There are many different majors offered by universities these days and sometimes students find themselves pondering between a few majors but just couldn’t make the final decision to set their paths on. Other than having a strong interest in the subject, it is also beneficial to research about the subject’s prospects.
We have compiled this list of United States’ best university majors based on research on employment prospects, alumni salaries and popularity. This does not necessarily mean that every subject listed here will guarantee you a job or a high salary after graduation. After all, luck plays a part as well.
Computer science
Not only can you learn more about computer hardware and software, but you can also learn about applying computer science skills to real-world scenario, such as how technology adapts to evolving businesses. As a computer science major, you will study robotics, natural language recognition programs, artificial intelligence, programming languages, numerical analysis, and game technology. Problem solving is an important part of computer science, no matter which industry you want to work in.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence refers to the decisions make by machines and with growing interest in advanced technology for our future, there is an increased demand in this major. AI applications are everywhere around now and some of us may not even be aware that these systems are part of AI. Remember the time you surfed Netflix and wonder how did the website manage to guess all the movies you like? Or how did self-driving cars Tesla manage to drive and smoothly most times? How about talking to Siri/Alexa? Robot vacuums? You might have guessed where I’m coming from, yes, these are part of AI. Majoring in these subjects will most probably ensure you will not be short of any jobs in the future.
Media
Students in media are often great storytellers, with an agile and fiery personality. You will spend a lot of time reviewing different types of presentations (such as speeches and scripts) and the strategies behind the messages used by speakers and authors to express their opinions. You will learn about verbal and non-verbal messages, audience responses, and the various effects of different communication environments. It will provide you with a wealth of career choices in business, advertising, human resources, public relations, government, education, media and social services.
Government/Political Science
Because it often involves current events and complex statistical analysis, political science is timely, interesting and permanently changing. In short, it is the study of government politics. Some of the common research focuses are on public policy, foreign affairs, political philosophy, and comparative government. The political science major develops excellent critical thinking and communication skills, and more broadly, an understanding of history and culture. There will be a lot of reading, writing and mathematics. The possible career paths are many and varied – from lawyers to politicians to journalists.
Business
Think you are a born leader? You need top-notch interpersonal skills as well as problem solving, mathematical calculation and decision-making skills. Don’t forget good communication skills! While studying business, you will gain a comprehensive foundation in accounting, finance, marketing, economics, statistics, and human resource theories and principles. You will become a master at how to budget, organize, plan, hire, direct, control and manage all kinds of organizations from entrepreneurial start-ups to multi-million-dollar businesses. The business major will also allow you to think about factors such as diversity, ethics, politics, and the factors that play a role in each work environment.
Economics
Economics is the study of choices which consist of the choices of individuals, companies, governments and societies, and how they choose to spend time and money and allocate resources. You guessed it: Economics involves a lot of critical thinking and mathematics. This research on the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services is an indispensable tool for understanding the intricacies of the modern world. It is also a good preparation for future graduate studies in not only business majors, but also law, public policy and international studies.
Psychology
If you find yourself exploring why certain people respond to certain aspects of the environment in certain ways, then studying psychology will help you understand the biology of our brains. The psychology major focuses on the characteristics of human thinking such as learning, cognition, intelligence, motivation, emotion, perception, personality, mental disorders, and the way in which our preferences inherited from our parents or shaped by the environment are formed.
In this field, psychologists seek to educate, communicate and solve many problems surrounding human behavior. In the job market, this degree allows you to become a therapist or counselor, of course, you can also be a teacher, child development expert, lawyer or consultant.
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineers make use of chemical reactions to produce what people want. This is a very broad field, quite overlapping with other branches of engineering, chemistry, and biochemistry. Chemical engineering majors learn how to reorganize molecular structures and how to design chemicals, petroleum, food, and medicines.
You will learn how to build and operate factories with chemically modified raw materials. You will learn how to protect the environment from potential pollution and hazardous waste. Paper mills, fertilizer manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, plastic manufacturers, and a large number of other companies will need your expertise.
Education
Education provides students with a better understanding of the learning process and the different factors that may affect different students’ ability to learn and participate in school, including environmental, social, cultural and psychological effects. Students majoring in education learn teaching theory and practice, and may focus their courses on specific age groups or areas of interest, such as history, science or mathematics. Students may also be able to have the opportunities to gain real-world teaching experience with attachments to schools and learn from other teachers.
