A college degree gives students the potential to get a good job and selecting the right major can really affect your financial future.

Wendy Berg, a counselor at the Career and Transfer Center, believes students need to keep in mind job market availability when choosing their major.

“It’s also important to consider practicalities like how much a particular job pays and if the student’s field of interest is a growing field,” said Berg.

While money is not everything, it certainly is something to take into account when choosing a major.

According to kiplinger.com, the top three majors with the highest starting income and job growth are computer science, management information systems and software engineering, in respective order.

Computer science majors can apply their specialty to a bevy of jobs within the technology industry with over 1.8 million job postings annually. Computer science and software engineering majors have an average starting salary of around $61,000 a year, while management information systems majors can expect around $56,000.

All three majors have great projected job growth over the next 10 years as well, ranging from about 16 percent to 23 percent. This means more job opportunities will be available within those fields.

Knowing what majors pay the most is only part of the answer. If your goal is to have a lucrative career, it is also important to know which majors have the lowest average income.

According to kiplinger.com, the three lowest paying major choices are respectively culinary arts, music and child and family studies.

Jobs associated with each of those majors have median starting salaries between $31,000 and $37,000 a year. The mid-career earning projections on these jobs go only as high as $55,000 a year. To give a point of comparison the three top majors have projected mid-career salaries between $95,000 and $104,000.

While some majors may lead to more lucrative positions down the line, it is important to know that your major does not define your career. According to Berg, 70 percent of employed graduates are not working in a field that is related to their major.

“For some fields, the choice of major is more important than others”, said Berg. “That doesn’t however, mean that it should be chosen randomly”.

Berg asserts that the best way to chose a major is to do some self-assessment. Identify your areas of interest, personality traits, values and skills. She also recommends taking a career assessment which measures your personality traits with your interests to recommend a career path.

To some students choosing your major is not all about chasing money, but rather pursuing your passion. Lauren Swink, a 19-year-old pre-med kinesiology major, chose her major so she could help people.

“I wouldn’t be doing all this schooling if it was just for the money,” said Swink.

For Matt Choy, second year design major, money did play some role in his selection of major.

“Money played a part, but it is more something I just like to do,” said Choy.

According to Berg, your choice of major impacts your first one or two jobs right out of college and then employers look more for your transferable skills like communication, ethics and people skills.

If you would like more information about major requirements, choosing a major, career opportunities or transfer information, please visit the Career and Transfer Center at the bottom floor of Fountain Hall on campus.