Best College Degrees for 2024

Choosing a major is a bit of a balancing act. It’s important to pursue a degree that can lead to a good job — but you also want to choose a field that fits your skill set and interests. The best degrees to get are ones that you feel passionate about and also offer you job opportunities after graduation so you can get a return on your educational investment.

If you need to choose a major that will spark your interest and provide you with good job prospects, check out some of the best degrees to get in 2024:

In demand majors

To determine the “best” degrees for 2024, we looked at which majors lead to well-paid jobs in growing fields. The following majors can help you land a job that earns more than $60,000 — the median wage for all jobs requiring a bachelor's degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Additionally, each of these fields offers plenty of job opportunities so you don’t have to wait for someone to retire to gain entry to the field.

Biology

Majoring in biology at the undergraduate level can provide you with a number of potential career avenues. These are the top jobs that biology majors could consider after graduation, according to the BLS:

• Medical scientists, not including epidemiologists: With a projected growth of 17% by 2031 and a median annual salary of $95,310, this is a growing and lucrative field. However, the typical entry-level medical scientist must have a doctoral or professional degree.
• Dentists: If you’re willing to pursue additional education after your bachelor’s degree, becoming a dentist can be a natural progression after majoring in biology. The median annual salary for dentists is $163,220, with the field expected to grow by 6% through 2031.
• Teachers: Teaching science to high school students can be a great career for a biology major. The median annual salary for secondary school teachers is $61,820 and there were 1,058,300 U.S. teaching jobs in 2021.

Business

Business majors can generally expect to earn a median salary of $65,000 per year, according to the BLS. With a degree in business, a number of potential fields are open to you, from starting your own business to helping a company build and maintain its market share. The BLS lists the following jobs as the top fields for business majors:

• Financial managers: This field anticipates a growth rate of 17% over the next decade, and it pays a median salary of $131,710. While the majority of financial managers have a bachelor’s degree (rather than an advanced degree), most have at least five years of work experience in a related job before assuming this position.
• Management analysts: If you have a passion for helping businesses improve their efficiency, becoming a management analyst after getting your degree in business could be an excellent career choice. This field has a median salary of $93,000 per year and is expected to grow 11% by 2031. The majority of analysts are able to land their jobs without an advanced degree.
• Accountants and auditors: A bachelor’s degree in business accounting or a related field could help you land a job as either an accountant or an auditor, although you may also want to get additional certification (such as the Certified Public Accountant license) to improve your job prospects. Accountants and auditors can expect a median salary of $77,250 and approximately 136,400 job openings projected each year until 2031.

Computer and information technology

We live in the digital age, which means majoring in computer and information technology can lead to a lucrative and rewarding career. Graduates with this degree can expect a median annual salary of $85,000, by BLS estimates. Some of the specific jobs that this degree can lead to include:

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  • Software developers: Growing at a rate of 25% over the next decade, software developers are in high demand. With a median salary of $109,020 annually, and the ability to jump into a career with a bachelor’s degree, this is an excellent option for anyone with a passion for computing.
• Computer and information systems managers: If you’d like to use your computer skills to help an organization thrive, this career path could be right for you. The median annual salary is $159,010 and the field is expected to grow by 16% by 2031. However, you may need several years of work experience or an advanced degree to land one of these positions.

Engineering

Engineers help design, manufacture, and distribute all the things we use on a daily basis. Majoring in engineering can lead to a lucrative career in applied science.

The estimated median annual salary for someone with an engineering degree is $93,000, according to the BLS. Consider the following top jobs in the field:

• Industrial engineers: You can get an entry-level industrial engineering position with a bachelor’s degree and get started on helping to improve the efficiency of industrial systems. Expect a median annual salary of $95,300. Industrial engineering is forecasted to grow 10% by 2031.
• Civil engineers: Civil engineers help to design, build, supervise, and maintain infrastructure systems and can do so with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Civil engineers earn a median salary of $88,050 and the field has a projected growth of 7% in the next decade.
• Mechanical engineers: Though mechanical engineering is only projected to grow 2% by 2031, this field offers an excellent median salary of $95,300 per year and entry-level positions only require a bachelor’s degree.

Healthcare

Majoring in healthcare or a related field opens up a number of career opportunities, from working with patients to managing health services programs. The BLS estimates the median salary for a graduate with a degree in healthcare is $63,000, and the following are the top jobs in this industry:

• Nurse practitioners: If you are interested in primary care of patients but do not wish to go to medical school, becoming a nurse practitioner may be a good option — although you will need to get a master’s degree. The median salary is $123,780 and the field is projected to grow 40% in the next decade.
• Medical health-services managers: Being the coordinator of a healthcare provider can be an excellent career choice for a graduate with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare. This job has a median salary of $101,340 and is expected to grow 28% by 2031.
• Registered nurses: A major in nursing is a good starting point for becoming a registered nurse. With a median salary of $77,600 per year and over 3.1 million available jobs as of 2021, this is a welcoming field that only requires a bachelor’s degree to get started.

Mathematics

A degree in mathematics offers almost infinite possibilities for career paths — many of which do not require any additional education.

The median salary for a graduate with a mathematics degree is $75,000, according to BLS estimates. Here are some of the top jobs you might pursue with a mathematics major:

• Data scientists: A data scientist takes raw data and determines meaningful insights from the numbers. This in-demand profession pays a median salary of $100,910 and is expected to grow 36% by the year 2031. Most data scientists can get an entry-level position with a bachelor’s degree and no prior experience.
• Management analysts: A mathematics degree can be another good path to this career, which has a median salary of $93,000 per year and a projected growth of 11% by the year 2031.

Finding the best degree for you

The right major for your education will offer you both job prospects and personal satisfaction. Choosing a major that interests you and provides you with the background you need to launch your career will help you feel good about your education now and in the future.