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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- An aerospace engineering degree has been leading to the highest-paying careers, and workers with this degree type have very low unemployment levels.
- Many workers in the top-paying fields also obtain graduate degrees.
If you’re looking to get a high-paying job with security, you may need to look to the sky when considering what to major in.
Aerospace engineering graduates earn a median of $125,000 mid-career and face just 1.4% unemployment, making it the bachelor’s degree most likely to land you a high-paying, stable job, according to Federal Reserve data.
Computer engineering and chemical engineering follow close behind, both topping $120,000 at mid-career.
But the outlook isn’t uniform across STEM. Computer engineers earn $122,000 mid-career yet battle the highest unemployment rate of any field at 7.5%. Finance and economics round out the top 10, offering six-figure mid-career salaries without requiring an engineering background.
Why This Matters to You
The gap between top-paying and average degrees can be more than $45,000 a year by mid-career. That difference affects how fast you pay off loans, when you can buy a home, and how much you can save for retirement.
Not All Degrees Pay Off Equally
Although tuition at higher education institutions dropped somewhat during the pandemic, costs have been rising again. During the 2025-26 academic year, the average tuition and fees at a public four-year in-state school were 2.9% higher than the year before, according to research from the College Board.
Increasing college costs and the struggle of recent college graduates to find jobs in their field have led more high school graduates to opt out of a traditional four-year college experience and instead choose to work or attend vocational school.
However, there are still many bachelor’s degrees that lead to jobs paying well above the median household income in the U.S. Aerospace engineering degrees don’t just lead to the highest-paying jobs, but have a starting salary of around $76,000, in line with the median pay for all workers with a bachelor’s degree in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additionally, aerospace engineers have a very low unemployment rate, making it easier to find a job in this high-paying field.
| The Top 10 High-Paying Careers You Can Get With a Bachelor’s Degree | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major | Unemployment Rate | Median Wage Early Career | Median Wage Mid‑Career | Share with a Graduate Degree |
| Aerospace Engineering | 1.40% | $76,000 | $125,000 | 51.50% |
| Computer Engineering | 7.50% | $80,000 | $122,000 | 40.00% |
| Chemical Engineering | 2.00% | $80,000 | $120,000 | 47.80% |
| Electrical Engineering | 2.20% | $78,000 | $120,000 | 48.30% |
| Mechanical Engineering | 1.50% | $75,000 | $115,000 | 39.60% |
| Computer Science | 6.10% | $80,000 | $115,000 | 32.80% |
| Finance | 3.70% | $70,000 | $110,000 | 30.90% |
| Economics | 4.90% | $70,000 | $110,000 | 41.60% |
| Miscellaneous Engineering | 3.40% | $70,000 | $108,000 | 46.30% |
| Industrial Engineering | 4.60% | $76,000 | $108,000 | 41.70% |
While not all graduates who hold one of the bachelor’s degrees listed need a master’s or doctoral degree to get a job, many people in these careers do obtain one.
For example, more than half of aerospace engineering graduates hold a postsecondary degree. These graduate degrees can help them advance their careers or focus on specific areas of concentration within their field.
