With rising tuition costs and an unpredictable economy, choosing your
Payscale's College Salary report, published Thursday, includes data on majors from more than 1.4 million college alumni from 1,016 schools.
Petroleum engineering takes the top spot for highest-paying majors among Bachelor's degree holders, with an average mid-career
"The current economy is evolving to a more technological and analytical base," Katie Bardaro, lead economist at Payscale, tells Business Insider. "If you're trying to make an educational choice now, engineering and math are likely to have a long leg."
Below are the 15 college majors with the highest salary potential, according to Payscale:
1. Petroleum Engineering
Staring median salary: $103,000
Mid-career median salary: $160,000
2. Actuarial Mathematics:
Starting median salary: $58,700
Mid-career median salary: $120,0000
3. Nuclear Engineering
Starting median salary: $67,600
Mid-career median salary: $117,000
4. Chemical Engineering
Starting median salary: $68,200
Mid-career median salary: $115,000
5. Aerospace Engineering
Starting median salary: $62,800
Mid-career median salary: $109,000
6. Electrical Engineering
Starting median salary: $64,300
Mid-career median salary: $106,000
7. Computer Engineering
Starting median salary: $65,300
Mid-career median salary: $106,000
8. Computer Science
Starting median salary: $59,800
Mid-career median salary: $102,000
9. Physics
Starting median salary: $53,100
Mid-career median salary: $101,000
10. Mechanical Engineering
Starting median salary: $60,900
Mid-career median salary: $99,700
11. Materials Science and Engineering
Starting median salary: $62,700
Mid-career median salary: $99,500
12. Software Engineering
Starting median salary: $60,500
Mid-career median salary: $99,300
13. Statistics
Starting median salary: $52,500
Mid-career median salary: $98,900
14. Government
Starting median salary: $43,200
Mid-career median salary: $97,100
15. Economics
Starting median salary: $50,100
Mid-career median salary: $96,700