Key Takeaways
Healthcare and STEM graduates showed some of the strongest financial payoff in California, with 52% of full-time workers in each field making at least $100,000 five to 10 years after graduating.
Choosing a major with weaker career outcomes could mean lower earnings, fewer job opportunities, or a longer path to finding work in your field after graduation.
You can improve the odds of your major paying off by comparing earnings and employment outcomes before enrolling and pursuing experience or credentials, such as licensure in healthcare.
Healthcare and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors showed some of the strongest career and earnings outcomes in a survey of California bachelor's graduates.
BestColleges' and National University's California Educational Outcomes Survey asked 1,006 bachelor's degree-holders in the state about the impact of their degrees after college. It found that among seven fields, graduates with majors in healthcare and STEM reported some of the strongest earnings and employment outcomes.
The Majors That Pay Off the Most
The survey analyzed seven fields, ranging from STEM to the humanities, social sciences, and healthcare. It measured income, graduates entering their intended field, time to employment, and current full-time employment. No single field led on every measure, but some fields had consistently strong outcomes.
| Field of Study | Full-Time Workers Making $100k+ | Entered Intended Field | Found First Full-Time Job Within 6 Months | Full-time Employment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 52% | 75% | 65% | 73% |
| STEM | 52% | 74% | 43% | 86% |
| Criminal Justice, Law, Public Service, and Government | 48% | 61% | 58% | 86% |
| Education, Psychology, and Social Sciences | 47% | 60% | 51% | 73% |
| Business and Management | 46% | 71% | 53% | 86% |
| Communication, Media, and Marketing | 41% | 66% | 57% | 81% |
| Arts, Humanities, and Design | 31% | 55% | 45% | 67% |
Overall, healthcare and STEM had some of the strongest outcomes across income, entry into their field, and employment. Even though graduates in STEM fields were the slowest to find a job initially, they had some of the highest earnings and rates of full-time employment five to 10 years after graduating.
Why Does Healthcare Pay Off So Well?
Workforce shortages in some California healthcare fields create a need for qualified graduates. For example, Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) pays off well in California because the need is so great, according to Dr. Gabriel Pineda, director of National University's CLS program.
"So, there's a giant need; a demand, right? The key here is the supply," Pineda told BestColleges.
CLS is a field that you can enter with a bachelor's degree and a year of clinical experience in California to conduct and lead research in a lab; a career step above a lab technician.
In California, you can enter the CLS field to conduct diagnostic testing with a bachelor's degree and a year of clinical experience. However, Pineda said California schools graduate very few students into the CLS field per year, and the required state-issued license further reduces the number of grads who enter these jobs.
Another common profession to enter with a bachelor's degree is nursing, which is also experiencing a workforce shortage. In California, for example, a statewide shortage of registered nurses is projected to reach nearly 17% by 2033, which translates to a need for roughly 61,100 additional RNs.
Licensure Can Lead to Higher-Paying Healthcare Careers
Healthcare careers have different licensing and education requirements, and those requirements can come with substantially different earnings. For example, a certified nurse aide, a position that typically requires a state certification, would earn less than a nurse with an RN license.
Workers in lower-level healthcare roles could increase their earnings over time, but this is usually dependent on acquiring additional training and credentials.
"To get that higher-level salary, you need to get accepted to these training programs, then pass your certification, then get your license," Pineda said. "You could make $100K without that, as let's just say, a lab assistant or a lab technician with your bachelor's in CLS, but it would take much longer."
Income Isn't Everything
Arts, humanities, and design graduates reported lower earnings and lower rates of full-time employment in California. Yet, the findings suggest that the perceived payoff of a degree involves more than employment and earnings outcomes.
More than 3 out of 4 respondents who pursued these majors (76%) rated their degrees' value as "good" or "excellent," the most of any field. By comparison, 70% of STEM and 63% of healthcare students rated their degrees' value in the same way.
"Our survey shows the value of a bachelor's degree isn't defined by salary alone," BestColleges Editorial Director Taína Cuevas said. "Earnings are an important part of the equation, but grads also consider career preparedness, financial security, and their own personal interpretations of degree value. Hearing directly from graduates gives us a better picture of the many ways a degree pays off."
What Makes a Major "Pay Off?"
For a major to pay off, it should set you up for strong earnings and employment relative to the money, time, and work you put in.
You can analyze the payoff by looking at outcomes including:
Earnings
The share of graduates entering their intended field
Time to employment after graduation
Full-time employment rate
By looking into these factors before choosing a major, you can get a better idea of the financial and career outcomes you can expect come graduation.
Also, research the institution you're looking to graduate from. What does your college say about their graduates' earnings, how strong is the alumni network, and what's the graduation rate? You can use the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard to see some of these outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions About How Majors Pay Off in California
Healthcare and science, technology, engineering, and math majors showed some of the strongest outcomes, according to BestColleges' and National University's California Educational Outcomes survey. However, each had different strengths. Healthcare graduates entered their intended fields the fastest, while STEM grads reported high earnings and full-time employment.
