"What the Top 1% of Earners Majored In"

**-kevin-** · 01-24-2012 01:13 PM

What the Top 1% of Earners Majored In - Yahoo! Finance

When reading this forum I often chuckle at the advice and comments, since I believe it is the individual, not necessarily the degree title, that makes the difference. Having an English degree I like the results....

**03310151** · 01-24-2012 03:05 PM

Where are the graduate degrees? Many of those undergrads are nothing more than prep for MBA /JD/MD from top tier schools.

**Kizmet** · 01-24-2012 06:06 PM

Thanks to Kevin for providing this link. There are, however, a couple of questions that this article fails to illuminate.

The first is that age-old question of money. The entire premise of the article is based on earnings. While no one would say that earnings mean nothing, I question the idea that earnings mean everything. Maybe I could have gone to med school (I would have been kicked out during internship) and earned a lot more money but is money the ultimate goal? (OKOK I know we're in America but c'mon, is money really the only thing we care about? Not me. I want a sane life.)

The second thing is the premise that if you major in XXX then you're more likely to become a skagillionaire. This is a false idea on it's face and can be easily disproved by pointing out the Bill Gates has no degree at all and yet he is the world's riches man (or maybe number 2, who cares). It's all just stupid stuff meant to fill up cyber space. Nothing to see here, just move along.

**BobbyJim** · 01-24-2012 08:05 PM

What I have witnessed on this forum in the way of advice tends to answer the questions about how and where to fulfill an itch for education ….not how to be in the top 1%.

Of course, education just might get you into the top 10% of earners if you are not real careful!

**BobbyJim** · 01-24-2012 08:11 PM

Kevin, I know you are proudly thumping your chest with this list showing English up there with the others!

**mbaonline** · 01-24-2012 08:43 PM

Originally Posted by 03310151

Where are the graduate degrees? Many of those undergrads are nothing more than prep for MBA/JD/MD from top tier schools.

That was my first thought too. The WSJ had an article in 2011 that listed the top salaries for students with undergrad only preparation, which is much more important when you look at undergrad majors. IIRC, the top seven were computer science and engineering , followed by accounting , finance and nursing in the 10th slot. Given that my daughter is a RN candidate, this made me very happy. I'll try to find the article and post a link.

**-kevin-** · 01-25-2012 04:08 AM

Originally Posted by Kizmet

Thanks to Kevin for providing this link. There are, however, a couple of questions that this article fails to illuminate.

The first is that age-old question of money. The entire premise of the article is based on earnings. While no one would say that earnings mean nothing, I question the idea that earnings mean everything. Maybe I could have gone to med school (I would have been kicked out during internship) and earned a lot more money but is money the ultimate goal? (OKOK I know we're in America but c'mon, is money really the only thing we care about? Not me. I want a sane life.)

The second thing is the premise that if you major in XXX then you're more likely to become a skagillionaire. This is a false idea on it's face and can be easily disproved by pointing out the Bill Gates has no degree at all and yet he is the world's riches man (or maybe number 2, who cares). It's all just stupid stuff meant to fill up cyber space. Nothing to see here, just move along.

One of my reasons for posting the link was that it demonstrates my thoughts on education , study what interests you. I was always taught you should study the three "R's". As you mentioned, money is not everything and while Bill Gates doesn't have a degree, his company almost without exception requires one for employment. I don't think the I came away with the sense that entering any of the fields would provide a better chance of being a skagillionaire (I like the nomenclature though). I suppose your correct that it fills cyberspace. Mostly for me it validated the thought that statistics can be found for any position and I just found it humorous that with all the emphasis on the STEM fields that liberal arts still holds some measure for an argument to be studied.

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**-kevin-** · 01-25-2012 04:21 AM

Not really, I just found the article humorous in light of our discussions with regard to employable majors. Anecdotally; I was hired in my first tech job specifically because I had an English degree in addition to my technical background. I think having a degree is notable, but as I mentioned previously, the individual has much more to do with the overall success than just the degree. I will, however, note that in many instances, a specific degree is the barrier to entry

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