Image via PEXELS
College degrees are supposed to be worth something. Well, in fact, it’s supposed to be worth a lot of something’s, as in money, because, you know, it costs a ton to attend college these days, with so many millennials struggling to payoff student debt or loans. Unfortunately, a lot of us will be swimming in that debt for a long time, because salary’s don’t often match up with our expectations, making it difficult to ever make a real dent in those monthly payments.
One thing we all know is that the type of college degree someone has always makes a difference. For instance, if you’re a bio major who went on to med school, good for you, because you’ll probably have a steady job for the rest of your life — and high-paying, too — but you’ll still be struggling with paying off loans at the same time. Likewise, if you’re a finance major, you’re probably making a pretty solid living for yourself.
For every pre-med, pre-law or finance major out there, though, there’s a fine arts, American history or math major, who might not be so lucky when it comes to getting a high-paying job. In fact, these types of people may be struggling hard to even get a job, because, according to new data, they’re just three of the college majors with the highest unemployment rate.
Thanks to Business Insider, who worked with the financial-education company Bankrate, we now know the college majors students might want to avoid. Take a look at the 20 with the highest unemployment rate below, with the unemployment rates in parentheses.
- 20. International Relations – Median Income: $60,000 (3.9%)
- 19. Visual and Performing Arts – Median Income: $32,000 (4.1%)
- 18. Commercial Art and Graphic Design – Median Income: $41,800 (4.1%)
- 17. Other Foreign Languages – Median Income: $45,000 (4.2%)
- 16. Industrial Production Technologies – Median Income: $71,000 (4.2%)
- 15. Industrial And Organizational Psychology – Median Income: $50,000 (4.3%)
- 14. Composition And Rhetoric – Median Income: $37,800 (4.4%)
- 13. Math And Computer Science – Median Income: $99,000 (4.5%)
- 12. United States History – Median Income: $55,000 (4.6%)
- 11. Fine Arts – Median Income: $37,000 (4.8%)
- 10. Communication Technologies – Median Income: $40,000 (4.9%)
- 9. Actuarial Science – Median Income: $80,000 (5.1%)
- 8. Public Policy – Median Income: $60,000 (5.1%)
- 7. Drama And Theater Arts – Median Income: $35,500 (5.2%)
- 6. Miscellaneous Fine Arts – Median Income: $38,000 (5.7%)
- 5. Mass Media – Median Income: $40,000 (6.0%)
- 4. Film Video And Photographic Arts – Median Income: $37,000 (6.5%)
- 3. Materials Engineering And Materials Science – Median Income: $78,800 (6.6%)
- 2. Cognitive Science And Biopsychology – Median Income: $56,000 (6.7%)
- 1. Petroleum Engineering – Median Income: $87,600 (7.5%)
So, yeah, college degrees are great and all, but, damn, when you look at that list and consider some of the unemployment rates, it might make you wish you could go back and change your major, doesn’t it? Thankfully, there’s always Uber for steady pay.