So, you want a PhD? Economics is among the top in terms of “high meaning*” and expected salary. Of course hard working multi-disciplinary economists like Thomas Piketty also become wealthy writing interesting books that combine meticulous research (hundreds of years of French tax records) the literature of the landed classes (Balzac, Jane Austin..) with original insights culled from economics, sociology and history. Even at 700 pages, Capital in the 21st Century is a good read and an better listen using online data and Figures). *”High Meaning” is the % of respondents who feel they “make the world a better place.”
| Rank | Major | Degree Type | Early Career Pay | Mid-Career Pay | % High Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) | PhD | 102000 | 142000 | 0.61 |
| 2 | Computer Engineering (CE) | PhD | 111000 | 139000 | 0.61 |
| 3 | Chemical Engineering | PhD | 92300 | 138000 | 0.65 |
| 4 | Biomedical Engineering (BME) | PhD | 86800 | 137000 | 0.84 |
| 5 | Economics | PhD | 98200 | 134000 | 0.7 |
| 6 (tie) | Electrical Engineering (EE) | PhD | 102000 | 133000 | 0.69 |
| 6 (tie) | Organic Chemistry | PhD | 79000 | 133000 | 0.61 |
| 8 | Computer Science (CS) & Engineering | PhD | 104000 | 132000 | 0.74 |
| 9 | Pharmacology | PhD | 70200 | 131000 | N/A |
| 10 | Physics | PhD | 88100 | 130000 | 0.63 |
| 11 | Computer Science (CS) | PhD | 112000 | 129000 | 0.63 |
| 12 | Statistics | PhD | 99900 | 128000 | 0.72 |
| 13 (tie) | Mechanical Engineering (ME) | PhD | 87800 | 125000 | 0.66 |
| 13 (tie) | Pharmacy | PhD | 103000 | 125000 | N/A |
| 15 (tie) | Aerospace Engineering | PhD | 93300 | 123000 | 0.52 |
Source: PayScale Human Capital (2015). Highest Paying PhD Majors by Potential Salary: www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/majors-that-pay-you-back/phd