The Income Impact of College Majors: Top and Lowest-Earning Fields.

A new analysis from the HEA Group found that college majors in STEM fields tend to lead to the highest salaries after graduation, with naval architecture and marine engineering being the highest-earning majors. However, the most popular majors among students are business administration, nursing, and psychology. Pursuing a top-earning major may not be perceived as a path to fulfillment, or simply that many students don't have the technical skills to pursue computer science or engineering in college. With the increase in college costs, students are increasingly under pressure to pick a major that will allow them to repay their loans and help them gain a foothold in the middle class.