Before entering college, and even while attending, young adults must eventually decide what major(s) they’d like to graduate with and what ones might bring the most success. The first thing to note is that every person has their own interpretation of success. Webster’s dictionary defines it as: “a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains fame, wealth, etc.” 

There have been measurements made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)–a fact-finding agency of the U.S. government focused on the labor sector–showing which jobs have the greatest demand in the market and which ones bring workers the greatest income in the current decade.

According to the BLS, the top three major jobs with the highest growth potential estimated for the decade are: professions in healthcare, software developers and software quality assurance analysts/testers, and food service managers. Along with these, general laborers, construction workers, truck drivers, data scientists and mathematical science occupations, caretakers, general managers of all fields, lawyers and teachers are also in high demand.

Of these fields, the BLS indicates that the top grossing average salaries are in healthcare, including managers, who are bringing in an annual salary of $90,200, with statisticians/analysts next, who average $167,000, and software developers, who bring in $110,140 on average.

According to the BLS, in general, but not necessarily in high demand currently, the top five highest paying jobs with at least $208,000 per year, are: ophthalmologists, physicians, radiologists, psychiatrists and gynecologists/obstetricians.

15 of the remaining occupations on the list have the same gross pay and are all in the medical field.

In terms of salary, the medical sector considerably garners the most pay, but there are a plethora of other jobs that provide high earnings and greater availability in the market, according to the BLS. 

Many of the jobs listed require some form of degree and the highest paying jobs almost always do. These occupations may be taken into consideration by those who have not yet declared their majors. Healthcare may appear to be one of the leading positions for wealth, but there are plenty of other jobs that can bring equal success.

Students weigh in

A poll conducted at CWU found that students have vastly different opinions on majors for success, as defined previously. Answers included: theater, economics, paramedics, law and justice, computer science, communications, software development, photography, music and film. Notably, out of the 19 participants, the most popular response was business majors, with six people saying this major had the most potential for success after graduation in terms of wealth, aims and fame.

Tammy Davis, a CWU alumni, said, “In terms of wealth, I would say finance or accounting, because everyone–especially businesses–need financial advisors and accountants. I don’t know how much fame there would be with it, but there are some pretty awesome CEOs out there with those degrees.

Michael Oaks, a Sophomore majoring in cybersecurity, said, “When I think of profitable majors, my first thought is STEM. With how relevant it is, I think anything STEM-related is guaranteed to lead to some sort of success. But, if I had to choose a specific major, I think engineering would lead to the most success.