These college majors lead to the highest-paying jobs for California students

Computer science, nursing and electrical engineering are among the most lucrative fields of study for recent California undergraduates, who on average earn well over $100,000 four years after graduating in these majors.

That’s according to a new analysis of federal earning data by The HEA Group, an education research organization. The report found that, on average, recent California graduates who received a bachelor’s degree earned nearly twice that of high school graduates, reinforcing that bachelor degrees help expand opportunities for greater economic mobility.

More students are questioning the economic value of higher education amid rising costs to attend college in California. Last year, students who lived on campus reported an 18% increase in their overall expenses compared to the previous year, according to a California Student Aid Commission report.

Growing skepticism of higher education’s value partially inspired Michael Itzkowitz, The HEA Group’s president, to conduct its analysis. He said students should enter post-secondary education with their “eyes wide open” about both the cost of the degree and its potential payoff.

“Before students consider additional levels of education, it’s important that they know what kind of investment they’re gonna make upfront, but also what kind of payoff they’re gonna have on the back end,” Itzkowitz said.

Different degrees, different values

STEM degrees, those related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are among the highest paying fields. Itzkowitz said that federal earning data of graduates from California colleges and universities was generally consistent to what he has observed nationally.

Those who earned a degree in mathematics and computer science earned an average salary of $138,785 four years after graduation — the highest of all the majors included in HEA’s analysis.

Other top earners included bachelor’s degree holders in computer engineering and nursing, which resulted in annual incomes of $125,120 and $123,693, respectively.

The analysis included nearly 277,000 graduates who received federal student aid. It found the most popular major is business administration, management and operations, which translated to an average salary of $74,271 four years after graduation.

Itzkowitz cautioned against using the database to determine the value of a particular major.

“A social work degree and an engineering degree exist for very different reasons, and both have different kinds of societal value that goes beyond the paycheck,” he said. “This is about being better informed of the outcomes before students spend the next two to four years of their life earning a degree.”

For students using the HEA database to make decisions about their field of study, it is important to consider what university they are attending, he said. A bachelor’s degree from one institution will lead to different outcomes compared to the same degree from other colleges.

The HEA analysis of roughly 3,000 bachelor’s, associate’s and certificate programs in California found that spending more time in school had economic benefits.

On average, those who obtained an associate’s degree earned on average $23,942 more than those with a certificate. Bachelor’s degree holders earned $34,769 more on average than those with an associate’s degree.

“I would argue it suggests that college is certainly still worth it when it comes to economics,” Itzkowitz said.