College Major Tier List - Which College Degrees Pay the Most?

Summary

In this video, the host presents a tier list ranking college majors from S to F based on future income potential and job prospects. Majors like Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, and Nursing are placed in the S-tier for high-paying careers and demand, while Art and History are ranked lower due to limited job opportunities post-graduation. The host emphasizes that the list is not about passion but rather the practicality and financial benefits of each major, aiming to guide students towards making informed decisions for their future.

Takeaways

• 📊 The speaker ranks college majors in a tier list, from S (highest) to F (lowest), based on factors like future income, job prospects, and difficulty of the major.
• 🔢 Accounting is placed in B tier, considered a good major with potential for CPA certification and good income, despite some people finding it enjoyable.
• 🚀 Aerospace engineering is ranked in S tier due to high demand, competitive salary, and the opportunity to work in a field that many are passionate about.
• 🎨 Art and art history majors are placed in F tier, as they are seen to have limited job prospects unless combined with other skills or a government job requirement.
• 🌌 Astronomy is considered an A tier major, with potential for tech jobs and a rigorous curriculum that can lead to a successful career in the field.
• 🧪 Biochemistry is ranked higher than biology, with the former in B tier and the latter in C tier, due to the saturation of the job market for biology graduates.
• 💻 Cybersecurity is a C tier major, with more emphasis on certifications and experience rather than the specific degree field, unlike other tech majors.
• 🔬 Chemistry is a C tier major, similar to biochemistry and biology, where getting a job at the bachelor level is challenging and further education is often required.
• 📝 Communications and journalism are considered low-tier degrees (D or F), with limited job prospects and often requiring additional networking or education.
• 💼 Information Systems is an S tier major, a versatile business-technology hybrid degree with various job opportunities, including business analyst and software engineer roles.
• 🖥️ Computer Science is the top-ranked major, offering high job prospects, competitive salaries, and the ability to work in various tech sectors without necessarily needing a master's degree.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the video?

The purpose of the video is to provide a tier list ranking of college majors based on factors such as future income, job prospects, and the difficulty of the major.

What tier does the speaker place Accounting in?

The speaker places Accounting in the B tier, indicating it as a pretty solid major with good job prospects and the potential to earn a good income.

How does the speaker rank Aerospace Engineering in terms of job prospects after gaining experience?

The speaker ranks Aerospace Engineering in the S tier, stating that after gaining a couple of years of experience and having the degree, one's career is golden with increasing pay and the opportunity to work in the field of Aerospace.

What is the speaker's view on Art as a college major?

The speaker ranks Art in the F tier, expressing that while it may be a passion for some, it does not necessarily lead to high-paying jobs or require a bachelor's degree for most opportunities in the field.

What does the speaker suggest about the job prospects for Astronomy majors?

The speaker suggests that Astronomy majors, despite limited direct job opportunities in astronomy, can get any tech job due to the rigorous math and hard courses they take, which are valued in the tech industry.

How does the speaker categorize the difficulty of getting a job with a Biology or Biochemistry degree at the bachelor's level?

The speaker categorizes the difficulty of getting a job with a Biology or Biochemistry degree at the bachelor's level as challenging, placing them in the C and B tiers respectively, and suggesting that extra schooling may be necessary.

What is the speaker's opinion on Cyber Security as a major?

The speaker places Cyber Security in the C tier, noting that it's more important to have experience and certifications in the field rather than the specific degree, and recommends other tech disciplines for a bachelor's degree.

Why does the speaker rank Computer Information Systems as highly as they do?

The speaker ranks Computer Information Systems in the S tier because it is a versatile business-technology hybrid degree that can lead to various jobs, including data analyst, business analyst, and even software engineer.

What is the speaker's stance on the Nursing major?

The speaker ranks Nursing in the S tier, highlighting that it is a high-paying and in-demand field, especially in California, where travel nurses can make a significant income.

How does the speaker view the versatility of Electrical Engineering?

The speaker views Electrical Engineering as one of the most versatile tech majors, possibly even an S tier, as it allows for work in both hardware and software, making it highly valuable in the tech industry.

What is the speaker's final ranking for Computer Science?

The speaker ranks Computer Science as their number one major, citing its high job prospects, pay, and the fact that it does not necessarily require a master's degree for success in the field.

Outlines

00:00

📊 College Major Tier List Overview

The speaker introduces a tier list ranking of college majors, ranging from S (highest) to F (lowest), based on factors like future income potential, job availability, and difficulty of the major. The ranking is unscripted and real-time, aiming to provide a brutally honest assessment. Accounting is placed in B tier, considered a solid choice leading to a CPA career with good income potential. Aerospace engineering is ranked in S tier due to high demand and competitive salary post-experience.

05:02

🎨 The Value of Art and Other Creative Majors

The speaker discusses the ranking of creative majors like Art and Art History, placing them in F tier due to limited job prospects and the belief that such degrees do not significantly enhance one's skills or creativity. Astronomy is ranked higher due to its applicability to tech jobs, while biology and biochemistry are placed in B and C tiers, respectively, with the caveat that bachelor-level jobs are hard to secure without further education.

10:03

🔐 The Importance of Tech and Science Majors

The speaker emphasizes the value of tech and science majors, with computer information systems being a favorite due to its hybrid nature of business and technology, earning it an S tier ranking. Cybersecurity is ranked in C tier, with a focus on certifications and experience over formal education. Other majors like chemical engineering and chemistry are discussed, with the former being close to an S tier due to its versatility and the latter being a C tier major due to the need for higher education for better job prospects.

15:04

💼 Finance, Nursing, and the Versatility of Engineering

Finance is considered a good major, potentially ranking in A tier, offering personal finance knowledge and career opportunities. Nursing is an S tier major, especially in California, where nurses are in high demand and can earn substantial salaries. The speaker also discusses the versatility of engineering majors, particularly mechanical and electrical engineering, which are ranked highly due to their wide range of applications and high earning potential.

🚀 The Top College Majors: Computer Science and Beyond

Computer science is ranked as the number one major, offering excellent job prospects and high salaries, especially in software development. The speaker, being a computer science graduate, is particularly biased towards it. Economics is also highly regarded, being a challenging and valuable major for understanding large-scale business and governance. Foreign languages are noted for their utility in government roles, while other majors like business administration and social work are discussed, with the latter having significant potential with further education.

Keywords

💡College Majors

College majors refer to the specific field of study that a student chooses to focus on within a university. In the video, the speaker ranks various majors in a tier list, from S to F, based on factors such as future income, job prospects, and the difficulty of the major. This concept is central to the video's theme, as it aims to guide viewers on making informed decisions about their educational and career paths.

💡Tier List

A tier list is a ranking system that categorizes items into different levels or tiers based on certain criteria. In this video, the speaker creates a tier list for college majors, with 'S' being the highest and 'F' the lowest. The tier list is a key tool used to convey the speaker's opinions on the relative value and desirability of different fields of study.

💡Accounting

Accounting is a major that focuses on the measurement, processing, and communication of financial information about economic entities. In the script, accounting is placed in the B tier, indicating that it is considered a solid choice with good prospects for becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and earning a decent income.

💡Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace engineering is a field that involves the design, development, testing, and production of aircraft and spacecraft. The speaker ranks it in the S tier, highlighting its high value due to the competitive nature of the field and the potential for a lucrative career with significant experience.

💡Art Major

An art major typically involves the study of visual arts, including painting, sculpture, and photography. In the video, the speaker places art in the F tier, suggesting that it may not offer strong job prospects or significant future income compared to other majors, unless one pursues specific career paths like government jobs requiring a bachelor's degree.

💡Astronomy

Astronomy is the study of celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole. It is ranked in the A tier by the speaker, indicating that it is a respected major that can lead to various tech jobs, despite potentially limited direct employment in the field of astronomy itself.

💡Biology and Biochemistry

Biology is the study of living organisms and their interactions with each other and their environments, while biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes within living organisms. In the video, biochemistry is placed in the B tier and biology in the C tier, reflecting the saturation of these fields and the need for further education for better job prospects.

💡Cyber Security

Cyber security is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. The speaker assigns it to the C tier, noting that while it's an important field, certifications and experience are often valued more than the specific degree, making it less desirable as a standalone major.

💡Nursing

Nursing is a healthcare major focusing on the care of individuals, families, and communities. It is ranked in the S tier, reflecting the high demand for nurses, potential for high income, and the importance of the profession in the healthcare system.

💡Computer Science

Computer science is a major that deals with the study of computers and computational systems. The speaker ranks it as the number one major, emphasizing its high job prospects, versatility in the tech industry, and the potential for a high salary, especially in areas like software development.

💡Economics

Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It is placed in the A tier, showing respect for the discipline due to its importance in understanding and managing economic systems, from businesses to governments.

Highlights

Accounting is ranked B tier as a solid major with potential for CPA certification and good income.

Aerospace engineering is placed in S tier due to high demand and competitive salary after gaining experience.

Art and art history majors are considered F tier due to limited job prospects and reliance on personal creativity.

Astronomy is an A tier major with versatile tech job opportunities post-graduation.

Biology and biochemistry are ranked C and B tiers respectively, with the need for higher education for better job prospects.

Bioengineering is a tier major, while cyber security is C tier, valuing experience and certifications over the degree itself.

Chemical engineering is nearly an S tier major, with only the necessity of a master's degree for certain jobs.

Communications and journalism are considered D or F tier majors with limited career prospects.

Computer information systems is an S tier major, offering a versatile mix of business and technology.

Finance is a B tier major with value in personal finance knowledge and potential for high-paying jobs.

Mechanical engineering is at least an A tier major, possibly S tier, offering strong job security and income.

Nursing is an S tier major with high demand and high earning potential, especially for travel nurses.

Physics is an A tier major, extremely difficult but with high respect and job opportunities in various fields.

Psychology is a D tier major, requiring a master's degree for most career paths.

Statistics is an A tier major with high demand and versatility in the job market.

Electrical engineering is an A tier major, versatile for both hardware and software careers.

Computer science is ranked as the number one major for job prospects and salary potential.

Economics is an A tier major, valued for its role in understanding and managing larger systems.

Foreign languages are C tier majors, beneficial for government and intelligence agency jobs.

Business administration is a C tier major, with networking as a key factor for success.

Computer engineering is similar to electrical engineering, focusing on hardware aspects.

Social work is a C tier major with potential for a good job after obtaining a master's degree.

Transcripts

he guys today we're going to go over the

top college majors so we're going to do

a tier list s tier being the highest

ranked college major and F being the

worst so we're going to rank them all up

right now you know don't be offended if

I rank your major low you know I'm just

going to be brutally honest in this list

so here we go guys top college majors

tier list guys here we are in the tier

list so this is the first time I've seen

this tier list this is a unscripted

video I'm seeing this list for the first

time just like you are and all of this

is going to be in real time I have not

seen any of these I have not pre-planned

any of these totally unscripted so here

we go college major tier list so I'm not

going to do all of these probably but I

will do probably most of them so

accounting accounting goes in B tier

accounting is a pretty solid major in my

top majors list on my website major

mash.com accounting came in at number 15

so accounting is actually a pretty good

major you know you can become a CPA uh

make some good money it's very vital if

you want to start your own business plus

a lot of people enjoy accounting it's

kind of fun at least uh Financial

Accounting cost and managerial

accounting not so much so let's see here

um aerospace engineering

definitely woo I don't know put this in

a or S

tier you know I'll put this in a tier

just for the simple fact no I got to put

this in s tier I was I was going to put

in a tier just because there's not as

many jobs as other Tech Majors so you it

might be very competitive but overall

this is a great degree like once once

you have a couple years of experience

and you have this degree like you're

just your career is golden and you're

going to be making six figures you know

your pay is going to constantly increase

and you get to work on something you

love which is Aerospace right so very

good major right there so let's go on

anthropology

i' probably put

that probably put it in C tier um art

I'm sorry guys I know there's going to

be a lot of art M let's go with art

history too right here so I know there's

a lot of Art majors that might watch

this video and you might hey this is my

passion how dare you rank it in F tier

you know this tier list is mostly by

what is your future income um you know

it's not about your passion it's about

what is great for your future you know

so this tier list is

mostly is it a good income in the future

and how difficult is the major as well

you know like and is there a lot of jobs

right like is there a lot of jobs for

this major and will I make money so I'm

concerned about your guys's future if

you do a major in art you know your job

prospects are just like job prospects

with anyone else without a bachelor

degree unless you work in government

that require Ires any bachelor degree so

art really does not help you like if you

want to start your own art shop or art

side business or any kind of business

you don't need an art degree for that it

also doesn't teach you the skills to be

better at art for the most part you are

your own creativity nobody can teach you

to have way more creativity something

you have or you don't so art I have is f

tier I'm sorry for any Art majors out

there

astronomyy is a great major I'll put

that in a tier it might be limited on

jobs but you know you can get any kind

of tech job with this degree you know

they will see you know you did some

rigorous math and some really hard

courses and put some projects on your

resume and you can get any Tech thing

you uh any Tech job you want you know

plus you can also work in astronomy I'm

just I'm sure it's hard to work in

astronomy so you know that might be uh

limited biology and biochemistry

I'll put biochemistry in B tier and

biology in C tier it is hard to get a

bachelor um a bachelor degree level job

with these degrees now 15 years ago it

was still pretty easy but now it's like

so saturated that you know you're going

to have to do extra schooling to get a

CLS or you're going to have to get a

master's degree so getting a bachelor

level degree job with these degrees is

just not that feasible so these you know

personally wouldn't major in these but

they're not bad Majors you know they're

pretty good especially if you want to

like do something like um want to become

a doctor or something like that these

are great degrees to get at The Bachelor

level and then apply to medical school

so they're great uh Premed degrees so

let's see here bio uh bio engineering

it's a tier

major

um cyber security go with uh C tier so

why do I put cyber security in C tier

it's because because I'd Rather somebody

get like a computer science or software

engineering or data degree at The

Bachelor level because cyber security

they actually care more about

certificates they actually don't really

care much what your degree is in

preferably as long as it's something

Tech but they're in the cyber security

World they care about experience which

anyone will tell you and they will they

care about certifications such as

cisp and all the other certifications

in the cyber security world that you can

research so there's tons of them and

they value that more than education so

it's just one of those strange fields

that education doesn't matter much and

certifications matter a lot whereas in

like the computer science world you know

the tech world the coding world uh what

matters more is education and experience

especially experience but you need a

bachelor degree to get in and you need a

bachelor degree in computer science

preferably or soft software engineering

so I'll put that in SE tier you know I

recommend people do a bachelor degree in

one of the other Tech disciplines than

cyber

security so what else do we have here

chemical engineering is a great major

put that a tier maybe s

tier it's close it's close to S tier for

sure uh chemistry we're going to

put we'll also put this in C tier but

it's I almost want to put it in B tier

but it's a good major um just like just

like biochemistry and biology it's just

hard to get a job at The Bachelor level

with this so you're going to have to get

a master's degree in all

likelihood so let's see here

Communications is not a good major

but one thing about a communication

degree is sometimes you can Network

pretty well with it but for the most

part this is a d or F tier major you

know it's not really something you want

to pick history is is an f-tier major

I'm sorry for any historians out there

you know like you're history degree

you're looking at a high school job a

high school teacher that makes $60,000 a

year no disrespect to any High School

teachers out there but if you really

want to have a comfortable life you know

you want to aim for higher pay than that

um now if you really want to be a

history professor at a un University and

try to make six figures and you would

need a PhD in history but if that's your

passion then go for it but that's going

to take a lot of school and becoming a

4-year University professor at like a

legit really good University is really

hard so just throwing that out there

um let's see here journalism D maybe

F we'll go f tier on that one

actually see marketing is not a great

degree sorry guys mathematics

is a a tier

major

English I mean English is pretty

valuable if you go to other countries

and you know you can get a job there

with an English degree and teach English

classes um I think it's more valuable

than the other liberal arts degrees but

it's still not the greatest degree to be

honest with you philosophy is f

tier you know Public Health we'll put

Public Health in C tier political

science we'll put in D tier but

political science does have its uses if

you want to go to grad school like it's

a great bachelor degree if you want to

be a lawyer so if that's your goal you

know we can jump this up to S tier if

you're going to for sure graduate from

law school right but as like a

standalone bachelor degree with no grad

school this is more of a d tier degree

you know you're probably looking at a

government job that pays way less than

six figures so you know not the greatest

uh degree in my

opinion um let's see computer

information systems is actually one of

my favorite degrees to be honest with

you I will honestly put this in s tier

um Information Systems it's called

something different every school some

schools it's just called Information

Systems some schools it's called

computer information systems and some

schools it's called management

information systems so

it's a really good degree it's like this

business technology hybrid degree and

you can get a lot of different jobs with

it you can get a data analyst job I

think the most common job is probably

like a business analyst and it's just

you can even probably become a software

engineer with this job if you get like

some projects on your resume um also I

see devops is a very common job with

this degree as well which is you know a

six-figure job too so this degree is

very valuable you get business classes

technology classes coding classes a

little bit of everything you know it's

one of those Hidden Gem Majors that I

actually enjoy a lot so um let's see

what else we have

here Finance is actually a pretty good

degree we put that in B tier I like

Finance uh I might actually put Finance

in a tier but if I put this in a tier it

actually depends on what school you're

going to go to so not every school is

the same regarding Finance but it is a

pretty good major and it teaches you

some very valuable uh things for your

own personal life as well you know how

to really pay attention to the stock

market and retirement and all of that

stuff which is all extremely

useful let's see here mechanical

engineering is definitely at least a

tier could be S tier very good

major see music is f tier nursing is an

S tier major nursing is just

in California if you're a travel nurse

you can make $400,000 a year starting

you know you can make over $100,000 a

year if you just be a regular registered

nurse at a hospital or a doctor office

this is California salary though so

don't quote me on any other state but

nurses make a lot of money I'm talking

about registered nurses in general okay

I'm not talking about lvns or anything

like that I'm talking about a registered

nurse with a BSN so they can make a lot

of money and it's always going to be in

demand nurses are always in demand

they've been in demand for at least the

past 30 years you know the United States

takes nurses from all over the world cuz

they're always in demand it's actually

one of those hidden tricks to get into

the country is to be a nurse so that's

why you'll see a lot of uh a lot of

people come here and they become they're

already a nurse and that's one of the

reasons they got into the country so

always a super in demand job physics a

tier major I'm a big physics guy I don't

think I can graduate in a physics major

to be honest I don't think I'm that

smart but I love physics from an

entertainment standpoint you know I love

um I love researching astronomy physics

astrophysics how the world works you

know the laws of physics like I'm I'm

just a big physics nut I really enjoy it

a lot you know I actually might like

when I'm older and have a lot of free

time I actually might get a bachelor

degree in physics I think it'd be a lot

of fun to be honest hard really really

hard but fun uh if we're talking about

like most difficult major by far is

probably physics like that's the most

difficult college major there is if you

graduate a bachelor degree in physics

you're a genius 100% so more power to

you uh what jobs can you get with a

physics major a laboratory job or you

can get a tech job you can become a

software engineer um anything you know

just put some projects on your resume

jobs love physics Majors because it

shows them you can solve anything so you

can you have a lot of job

opportunities uh psychology will put

yeah put that in D tier you're not going

to find a job with this at The Bachelor

level you need a master's degree at the

minimum and even then it will be

difficult so but your prospects are

being a therapist at some point which is

a really good job so psychology goes

right there sociology I would actually

put I almost want to put that in F tier

but I'll put it in D tier um let's see

here what else do we have that's a very

common major statistics is a fantastic

major a tier

um let's see I'm kind of running out

here we go the S tier major electrical

engineering I actually did a college

major tournament and the tournament

final came down to computer science

against electrical engineering so

computer science is like the hardware

portion and also a lot of software too

like there's a lot of coding classes

programming all of that electrical

engineering is a mix of both two but

mostly focuses on Hardware you know

you're going to learn how to put things

together electrical components and all

of that plus you'll still have your mix

of coding classes and all of that so

electrical engineering is a more it's

probably the most a versatile degree

there is regarding Tech because you can

work in hardware and you can also go to

software you know you just have to uh

maybe put some projects on your resume

get a little bit of experience but you

can work in the software side too so

many people are software engineers and

some kind of software job with this

degree so it's less common for a

computer science major to work on the

hardware side so electrical engineering

is the most versatile Tech major and one

of the most vers versatile majors in

general so but yeah this is a six-figure

major you'll be making great money

you'll be comfortable for the rest of

your life for sure um let's see computer

science oh here we go computer science

is my number one major I mean maybe I'm

a little biased because I have a

computer science degree but I researched

a long time like what is the best Major

you know like what what has the most job

prospects you know what is going to pay

the most like what is the best value for

the money at the bachelor level where

you don't need a master's degree and

computer science was just like always at

the top of the research list you know so

plus I have a passion for coding as well

and you know computer science is just

I'm always going to rank it as my number

one major if you get a computer science

degree you can work in software you will

eventually get a job if you're in

California you'll start at over six

figures you'll live a very comfortable

life computer science if you can handle

it if you can do it it's in my opinion

the number one college major and you

know don't don't be scared about tech

layoffs you know that's happens in any

any industry it comes and goes so

economics is a a tier major very hard

major I respect anyone that does an

economic degree and you know running a

country and running a city like all

those types of things is like you have

to know economics economics is like the

backbone of all of that so it's like

running a business at a much larger

level actually so economics is great

love it um let's see

here foreign languages I'll put in CER

foreign languages is great if you want

to get like a government job they love

foreign language majors and even the FBI

um and the CIA and those guys they love

foreign language Majors you know like it

helps them uh decode things and

understand things so they really do like

foreign language majors and also let you

go to whatever country that you majored

in right like if you majored in Korean

you can go to Korea and you know the

language right it's very useful

obviously so let's see I'm only going to

rank the most common Majors there are so

let's see what we have on here um

business administration we'll put that

in C tier pretty common major but it's

it's a decent major if you can do

networking pretty well

uh let's see Computer Engineering that's

basically the same as electrical

engineering almost a lot of times these

are the same major um electrical

engineering and computer engineering a

lot of schools have it as the same thing

it's called electrical and computer

engineering at least most of the schools

in California have it that way but there

are some schools that have it separately

and computer engineering would focus

mostly on just Hardware Computer

Engineering where electrical engineering

focuses on all electrical stuff you know

phones anything you know so this one is

a little more specific Computer

Engineering uh let's see here

environmental science industrial

engineering

um General Studies health I think we're

going to call it a day here at these

Majors because I do not see anything

that's like a really common

major we do have social work here I

would put social work Con seat here I

see that degree a lot at The Bachelor

level and then they get a really good

master's degree and they get a Prett

pretty good job so Social Work

definitely has u a lot of potential um

but yeah these are these are like the

most common college majors and how I

would how I would rank them you know you

have your s tier right here a tier B

tier C tier D tier F tier so if I ranked

your major low I apologize you know I

just want you guys to make good money

and have an optimal future guys that's

it for the video this was the college

major tier list I hope it kind of helped

you decide which college major to do

gave you a little perspective on which

majors pay the most which majors are the

most difficult and uh yeah so I hope you

guys enjoyed the video if you do like it

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