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Engineering majors at Cleveland State University and other colleges are likely to earn a great salary during their career, according to a new report.
(Karen Farkas, cleveland.com)
CLEVELAND, Ohio - What major and college gives you the best shot at a well-paying job?
PayScale's annual College Salary Report provides some answers.
Not surprisingly, degrees in engineering, mathematics and computer science lead to strong earnings. But an associate degree in similar fields can also lead to a high-paying job.
Choosing a college is a little more nuanced. Graduates of liberal arts colleges may earn less early in their career, but earnings rise as they gain experience.
Payscale, a salary, benefits and compensation information company, compiled data on lifetime earnings for hundreds of degree and major combinations to show the earning potential for an associate, bachelor's or master's degree.
The data is collected through PayScale's ongoing, online compensation survey. Users provide data about their jobs, compensation, employer and educational background.
The sample considered for last year's report was 1.4 million college graduates, PayScale said. The sample size for each school ranges from 50 to 4,000 profiles, depending largely upon the size of the school.
The end result shows how much alumni from nearly 1,000 undergraduate schools earn. It also includes the percent of alumni at each school who say their work makes the world a better place.
Following are how northeast Ohio colleges ranked in the state by salary potential.
Early career pay indicates what full-time employees earn the first five years out of college. Mid-career pay reflects 10 or more years of experience.
Public and private four-year colleges: bachelor's degree.
1. Oberlin College: $44,900 (early), $103,000 (mid)
5. Case Western Reserve University: $58,600 (early), $92,600 (mid)
6. John Carroll University: $44,600 (early), $91,000 (mid)
13. University of Akron: $46,600 (early), $77,300 (mid)
14. Cleveland State University: $42,500 (early), $77,100 (mid)
15. College of Wooster: $38,600 (early), $76,900 (mid)
17. Walsh University: $40,200 (early), $75,100 (mid)
23. Baldwin Wallace University: $41,800 (early), $72,100 (mid)
26. Youngstown State University: $44,300 (early), $71,600 (mid)
30. Hiram College: $40,000 (early), $70,000 (mid)
33. Kent State University: $41,000 (early), $66,200 (mid)
36. Ursuline College: $42,500 (early), $63,600 (mid)
Community colleges
2. Lorain County Community College: $36,500 (early), $61,500 (mid)
4. Lakeland Community College: $35,600 (early), $57,200 (mid)
15. Cuyahoga Community College: $37,000 (early), $50,100 (mid)
Overall 5 top bachelor degrees by salary
1. Petroleum engineering: $96,700 (early), $172,000 (mid)
2. Systems engineering: $66,400 (early), $121,000 (mid)
3. Actuarial science (advance study of statistics): $60,800 (early), $119,000 (mid)
4. Chemical engineering: $69,800 (early), $119,000 (mid)
5. Computer Science and engineering: $71,200 (early), $116,000 (mid)
5, Nuclear engineering: $68,500 (early), $116,000 (mid)
Overall top 5 associate degrees by salary
Computer engineering: $41,000 (early), $77,300 (mid)
Economics: $36,500 (early), $76,500 (mid)
Management information systems: $46,300 (early), $76,400 (mid)
Construction management: $44,500 (early), $73,400 (mid)
Electrical engineering: $42,400 (early), $70,800 (mid)