Certain majors, however, may bring a faster return on investment than others, the report found. Michael Itzkowitz, the report's author and a senior fellow for higher education at Third Way, analyzed data collected by the U.S. Department of Education from about 2.2 million students who graduated in 2015 and 2016, then measured their earnings two years later.
There are 11 bachelor's degree programs that allow most graduates to recoup the money spent on their diploma in five years or less, the report notes. Seven engineering majors, including petroleum, aerospace and industrial engineering. The remaining majors are also in science, math and health care: nursing, dental support services, construction management and quality control/safety technicians.
Other fields, such as drama and dance, showed no return on investment most of the time, the report found. That doesn't mean those careers don't offer creative fulfillment or societal value, Itzkowitz tellsHe calculated the earnings premium of college graduates by comparing the average salary of those who attended college to a high school graduate, then measuring that number against the average net cost a graduate paid toward their degree .
Itzkowitz adds that he wasn't surprised by the report's findings as workers in STEM and healthcare have historically been "high in demand." "They tend to have the strongest job prospects, so they can start earning a lot of money right after graduating," he says.