What not to study: The 20 college majors with the highest unemployment rates

Ivan De LuceSep 9, 2019, 21:40 IST

Christian Lagerek/Shutterstock

Even if you have a high-paying job, it doesn't mean you have guaranteed job stability.
According to a recent study by Bankrate, many high-paying college majors also come with above-average unemployment rates.
The college major with the highest unemployment rate was petroleum engineering, with 7.5% of graduates unemployed.
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Having a high-paying job doesn't necessarily mean you'll have job stability, and vice versa.

Some college majors that lead to high-paying jobs also come with above-average unemployment rates - and that includes majors in fields like engineering, cognitive science, and the arts.

Financial education company Bankrate looked at unemployment rates for college majors, based on the most recent available data from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey. Using weighted data, Bankrate determined unemployment rates and incomes for graduates across 162 majors that employed at least 15,000 people.

The median income for degree holders in the study was $55,000, and the average unemployment rate was 2.8%. Bankrate supplied Business Insider directly with the number of graduates employed in each major on the list.

The major with the highest unemployment rate was petroleum engineering, with 7.5% of graduates unemployed - despite graduates with that major having a median income of $87,600.

Here are the 20 college majors with the highest unemployment rates.

See What not to study: The 20 college majors with the highest unemployment rates >>

20. International Relations

Number employed: 148,500

Median income: $60,000

Unemployment rate: 3.9%

19. Visual and Performing Arts

Number employed: 78,200

Median income: $32,000

Unemployment rate: 4.1%

18. Commercial Art and Graphic Design

Number employed: 575,800

Median income: $41,800

Unemployment rate: 4.1%

17. Other Foreign Languages

Number employed: 78,600

Median income: $45,000

Unemployment rate: 4.2%

16. Industrial Production Technologies

Number employed: 78,100

Median income: $71,000

Unemployment rate: 4.2%

15. Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Number employed: 25,300

Median income: $50,000

Unemployment rate: 4.3%

14. Composition and Rhetoric

Number employed: 89,600

Median income: $37,800

Unemployment rate: 4.4%

13. Mathematics and Computer Science

Number employed: 16,900

Median income: $99,000

Unemployment rate: 4.5%

12. United States History

Number employed: 23,200

Median income: $55,000

Unemployment rate: 4.6%

11. Fine Arts

Number employed: 594,300

Median income: $37,000

Unemployment rate: 4.8%

10. Communication Technologies

Number employed: 93,600

Median income: $40,000

Unemployment rate: 4.9%

9. Actuarial Science

Number employed: 17,600

Median income: $80,000

Unemployment rate: 5.1%

8. Public Policy

Number employed: 43,000

Median income: $60,000

Unemployment rate: 5.1%

7. Drama and Theater Arts

Number employed: 244,200

Median income: $35,500

Unemployment rate: 5.2%

6. Miscellaneous Fine Arts

Number employed: 22,600

Median income: $38,000

Unemployment rate: 5.7%

5. Mass Media

Number employed: 302,200

Median income: $40,000

Unemployment rate: 6.0%

4. Film Video and Photographic Arts

Number employed: 185,400

Median income: $37,000

Unemployment rate: 6.5%

3. Materials Engineering and Materials Science

Number employed: 35,100

Median income: $78,800

Unemployment rate: 6.6%

2. Cognitive Science and Biopsychology

Number employed: 17,400

Median income: $56,000

Unemployment rate: 6.7%

1. Petroleum Engineering

Number employed: 25,500

Median income: $87,600

Unemployment rate: 7.5%

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