PayScale, the creator of the world’s largest compensation database, looked at the starting pay for millions of professionals and sorted the information by college major.
Management Information Systems (MIS)
Median starting pay: $56,300
Median mid-career pay: $95,500
Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET)
Median starting pay: $56,600
Median mid-career pay: $85,400
Nursing
Median starting pay: $56,900
Median mid-career pay: $73,600
Business and Information Technology
Median starting pay: $56,900
Median mid-career pay: $99,100
Architectual Engineering
Median starting pay: $57,000
Median mid-career pay: $90,400
Physics
Median starting pay: $57,200
Median mid-career pay: $105,100
Electrical Engineering Technology
Median starting pay: $58,900
Median mid-career pay: $88,200
Biomedical Engineering
Median starting pay: $59,600
Median mid-career pay: $92,200
Business Information Systems
Median starting pay: $59,800
Median mid-career pay: $85,100
Actuarial Mathematics
Median starting pay: $60,800
Median mid-career pay: $119,600
Computer Science
Median starting pay: $61,600
Median mid-career pay: $103,600
Software Engineering
Median starting pay: $61,700
Median mid-career pay: $99,800
Industrial Engineering
Median starting pay: $61,900
Median mid-career pay: $97,200
Mechanical Engineering
Median starting pay: $62,100
Median mid-career pay: $101,600
Computer Science and Mathematics
Median starting salary: $63,200
Median mid-career pay: $101,400
Materials Science and Engineering
Median starting pay: $64,000
Median mid-career pay: $105,100
Electronics and Communcations Engineering
Median starting pay: $64,100
Median mid-career pay: $113,200
Aerospace Engineering
Median starting pay: $64,700
Median mid-career pay: $107,900
Electrical Engineering
Median starting pay: $65,900
Median mid-career pay: $107,900
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Median starting pay: $66,500
Computer Science and Engineering
Median starting pay: $66,700
Median mid-career pay: $112,600
Nuclear Engineering
Median starting pay: $67,000
Median mid-career pay: $118,800
Computer Engineering
Median starting pay: $67,300
Median mid-career pay: $108,600
Chemical Engineering
Median starting pay: $69,600
Median mid-career pay: $116,700
Petroleum Engineering
Median starting pay: $102,300
Median mid-career pay: $176,300
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