With the Presidential election fast approaching, job creation is a hot topic. More and more college graduates are unable to find jobs in this tough economy. Depending on your major, a job may not be guaranteed.
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine has released a list of the 10 best majors for a lucrative career, and ULM provides eight of those.
At the top of the list are pharmacy, pharmacology and nursing. construction services, medical assisting services and management information systems also make the list.
Kiplinger defines lucrative careers as those that have low unemployment rates, above average salaries and high growth rates.
First-year nursing student Tim Morgan said that job security is what drew him to his chosen field.
“I considered nursing because I knew I could get a job anywhere in this country no matter where I go,” Morgan said.
Other majors on the list that ULM offers are those in treatment therapy professions, such as occupational therapy and speech-language pathology.
The only two areas listed that ULM does not cater to are chemical and electrical engineering.
Roslynn Pogue, director of Career Connections, said she is excited that ULM caters to eight of Kiplinger’s top 10 majors.
“This will definitely increase companies’ recruiting interests for our students for both full-time positions and internships,” Pogue said.
Kiplinger also released a list of the 10 worst majors which included English, sociology, fine arts and graphic design. According to Kiplinger, the unemployment rate for recent graduates in each of these fields is above 8.6 percent.
However, English graduate student Jaleesa Harris said this information does not discourage her.
“I’m not surprised that English is listed as one of the worst majors because a lot of people underestimate it,” Harris said. “But I think people fail to realize that English is at the foundation of every career.”
Surprisingly, Kiplinger’s list of lucrative careers did not include some of the highest paid occupations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of occupational employment and wages in 2011, doctors, lawyers and CEOs are some of the highest paid.
Anesthesiologists topped the charts with an average annual salary of $234,950. Surgeons, physicians and dentists were not far behind. Other high-paying jobs included psychiatrists, pharmacists and optometrists.
While it’s safe to say the health care industry dominates this category, some lucrative professions in other areas included engineers, lawyers, chief executives and political scientists.
With the exception of engineering, ULM caters to most of the lucrative careers listed in both studies. For those looking to go into the health care field, there are strong biology and nursing departments and the trademark pharmacy school.
Business, construction and political science programs among others are also offered for those looking to excel outside of the medical field.
Career Connections’ coordinator of internships Kyle O’Neal said that the availability of successful majors at ULM “shows a commitment from our administration to focus on valuable degree paths.”
