Which of those graduate-level degrees are worth the hefty pricetag? As part of their 2015 – 2016 College Salary Report, Payscale.com combed data for more than 200 graduate-level degrees and ranked them according to the mid-career salaries of college graduates holding those degrees.
Though the lists of the best-paying bachelor’s and associate’s degrees were packed with degrees in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math, the list of the best-paying master’s degrees is even more so, and is described by the accompanying report as “a parade of other STEM subjects.”
No. 25 (tie) Human Computer Interaction
Early career pay: $82,100
Mid-career pay: $115,000
No. 25 (tie) Finance
Early career pay: $63,200
Mid-career pay: $115,000
No. 25 (tie) Aerospace Engineering
Early career pay: $75,600
Mid-career pay: $115,000
No. 22 (tie) Physics
Early career pay: $66,900
Mid-career pay: $117,000
No. 22 (tie) Engineering Management
Early career pay: $71,700
Mid-career pay: $117,000
No. 21 Systems Engineering
Early career pay: $77,000
Mid-career pay: $118,000
No. 18 (tie) Software Engineering
Early career pay: $80,200
Mid-career pay: $119,000
No. 18 (tie) Information Technology Management
Early career pay: $65,900
Mid-career pay: $119,000
No. 18 (tie) Applied Mathematics
Early career pay: $66,000
Mid-career pay: $119,000
No. 17 Nuclear Engineering
Early career pay: $71,800
Mid-career pay: $121,000
No. 13 (tie) Telecommunications Engineering
Early career pay: $74,000
Mid-career pay: $121,000
No. 13 (tie) Computer Science & Mathematics
Early career pay: $80,000
Mid-career pay: $121,000
No. 13 (tie) Computer Science
Early career pay: $81,200
Mid-career pay: $121,000
No. 13 (tie) Computer Engineering
Early career pay: $85,000
Mid-career pay: $121,000
No. 11 (tie) Operations Research
Early career pay: $80,300
Mid-career pay: $122,000
No. 11 (tie) Materials Science & Engineering
Early career pay: $70,300
Mid-career pay: $122,000
No. 10 Chemical Engineering
Early career pay: $72,900
Mid-career pay: $124,000
No. 8 (tie) Technology Management
Early career pay: $63,600
Mid-career pay: $125,000
No. 8 (tie) Electronics & Communications Engineering
Early career pay: $84,300
Mid-career pay: $125,000
No. 5 (tie) Taxation
Early career pay: $60,700
Mid-career pay: $126,000
No. 5 (tie) Taxation
Early career pay: $60,700
Mid-career pay: $126,000
No. 5 (tie) Biomedical Engineering
Early career pay: $68,400
Mid-career pay: $126,000
No. 4 Computer Science & Engineering
Early career pay: $89,000
Mid-career pay: $127,000
No. 3 Electrical & Computer Engineering
Early career pay: $80,600
Mid-career pay: $128,000
No. 2 Nurse Anesthesia
Early career pay: $139,000
Mid-career pay: $159,000
No. 1 Petroleum Engineering
Early career pay: $96,500
Mid-career pay: $173,000
-Forbes