Each page lists the destinations most common first, not highest paid first, and marks the ones that in practice need a graduate degree.
What Can You Do With Your Degree?
33 college majors and the 479 occupations their graduates commonly move into, each carrying its real BLS median wage, ten-year projected change, annual openings and typical entry education. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so every list states where people commonly end up rather than what the degree entitles you to.
- Majors covered
- 33
- Career destinations
- 479
- Middle major pays
- $80,730
- Need a graduate degree
- 84 of 479
Most-chosen US fields
Across all majors
Median of medians, BLS OEWS May 2025
BLS EP typical entry, 2024–2034
Browse every major
- Computer ScienceProgramming, algorithms, data structures, discrete maths, and a lot of debugging.14 common destinations · middle pays $105,235 · 1 need graduate study
- NursingAnatomy, pharmacology, and clinical placements from early on, with real patients.13 common destinations · middle pays $97,550 · 4 need graduate study
- Mechanical EngineeringStatics, dynamics, thermodynamics, materials, and design projects with deadlines.15 common destinations · middle pays $104,920
- Civil EngineeringStructures, soils, hydraulics, and surveying, plus site visits and a lot of standards.14 common destinations · middle pays $100,840 · 1 need graduate study
- Electrical and Computer EngineeringCircuits, signals, embedded systems, and labs where things occasionally smell burnt.14 common destinations · middle pays $122,930
- Business AdministrationAccounting, operations, strategy, organisational behaviour, and group projects.15 common destinations · middle pays $102,320
- Finance and AccountingFinancial statements, valuation, corporate finance, audit, and spreadsheet work.15 common destinations · middle pays $94,160
- MarketingConsumer behaviour, research methods, branding, analytics, and live campaign projects.15 common destinations · middle pays $78,760
- PsychologyResearch methods and statistics first, then cognition, development, and clinical topics.15 common destinations · middle pays $66,940 · 9 need graduate study
- BiologyCell biology, genetics, ecology, and long lab sessions with careful protocols.14 common destinations · middle pays $93,455 · 4 need graduate study
- ChemistryOrganic, physical, and analytical chemistry, with lab reports every single week.15 common destinations · middle pays $88,720 · 3 need graduate study
- EducationLearning theory, curriculum design, assessment, and supervised classroom placements.15 common destinations · middle pays $64,370 · 4 need graduate study
- Communications and JournalismReporting, media law and ethics, editing, and production work with hard deadlines.15 common destinations · middle pays $75,420
- Graphic DesignTypography, colour, layout, brand systems, and critique sessions on your own work.14 common destinations · middle pays $82,435
- Political Science and Pre-LawPolitical theory, comparative government, public policy, and heavy reading and essays.15 common destinations · middle pays $80,730 · 5 need graduate study
- Environmental ScienceEcology, chemistry, geographic information systems, and fieldwork in real weather.15 common destinations · middle pays $82,220 · 1 need graduate study
- Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAnatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology, and hands-on assessment labs.15 common destinations · middle pays $64,070 · 5 need graduate study
- Social WorkHuman behaviour, policy, ethics, and supervised placements with real caseloads.14 common destinations · middle pays $60,320 · 6 need graduate study
- Mathematics and StatisticsProof based analysis and algebra, probability, statistical modelling, and computing.15 common destinations · middle pays $105,650 · 6 need graduate study
- Hospitality and Event ManagementOperations, food and beverage, revenue management, and long practical placements.15 common destinations · middle pays $63,580
- Criminal JusticePolicing, courts, corrections, criminology, and evidence and procedure law.15 common destinations · middle pays $76,210 · 1 need graduate study
- SociologySocial theory, research methods and statistics, inequality, and a lot of essays.15 common destinations · middle pays $69,460 · 5 need graduate study
- Public HealthEpidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, and programme design and evaluation.14 common destinations · middle pays $81,475 · 3 need graduate study
- PhilosophyLogic, ethics, metaphysics, and close reading of arguments you have to take apart.14 common destinations · middle pays $77,415 · 2 need graduate study
- Health ScienceAnatomy, healthcare systems, medical terminology, and an early clinical placement.13 common destinations · middle pays $67,880 · 2 need graduate study
- HistoryPrimary sources, historiography, and long essays argued from evidence you found.15 common destinations · middle pays $76,910 · 6 need graduate study
- AnthropologyEthnography, fieldwork methods, human evolution, and cultures compared side by side.15 common destinations · middle pays $69,460 · 6 need graduate study
- EnglishLiterature, critical theory, and essays argued closely from the text itself.15 common destinations · middle pays $76,910 · 3 need graduate study
- Nutrition and DieteticsBiochemistry, food science, medical nutrition therapy, and supervised practice.13 common destinations · middle pays $64,070
- Art HistoryVisual analysis, period and movement study, archival research, and long essays.14 common destinations · middle pays $72,295 · 4 need graduate study
- Information TechnologyNetworks, operating systems, databases, security, and hands-on lab configuration.15 common destinations · middle pays $116,580
- Human ResourcesEmployment law, compensation, staffing, training design, and organisational behaviour.14 common destinations · middle pays $88,075
- EconomicsMicro and macro theory, econometrics, and modelling with real data sets.15 common destinations · middle pays $105,650 · 3 need graduate study
How these lists were built
- The destinations for each major are the occupations its graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank.
- Wages are BLS OEWS May 2025. Projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry are BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034. Occupation descriptions are O*NET 30.3 Database. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
- Still choosing? The free college major quiz scores what you like doing against what each of these majors actually asks of you. Full methodology.
Choosing a major: FAQ
Does your college major decide your career?
For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the licensed fields — nursing, teaching, accounting, engineering and the therapies — where the degree is the route rather than a signal. That is why each page below lists common destinations rather than a single job.
Where do the salary and growth figures come from?
Every figure on these pages comes from the NueCareer career bank: national median annual wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected employment change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated and no figure is generated by an AI model.
How many of these careers need a graduate degree?
Across the 33 majors covered here, 84 of the 479 listed destinations have a master's or a doctoral or professional degree as their BLS typical entry education (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Each one is marked on its major's page, because the difference between a bachelor-level destination and a graduate-level one is the difference between four years and seven.