Many college graduates will tell you it's not all about the money -- higher education offers a way for you to develop your personality and foster positive intellectual habits. However, college is also the entryway for many occupational fields. When it comes down to cash, the engineers have it: Most of the top-earning college majors are related to engineering. For example, in 2010, the average petroleum engineering major, which is someone who studies the production of oil and natural gas, could earn more than $97,000 in his or her first year out of college. Click ahead to learn more about lucrative college majors.
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Into heavy metal? No, no, not the kind with the leather vests and the PTA boycotts -- actual metal. If so, a major in this field could lead to seriously heavy financial rewards. Metallurgical engineers, who deal with the extraction, synthesis and production of natural metals and alloys, average median mid-career earnings of about $80,000 a year.
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Above, two civil engineers and a dam inspector examine the Whittenton Pond Dam in Taunton, Mass., which threatened to fail in 2005. Civil engineers design and maintain the structures that enable humans to live in their environments -- these structures include dams, bridges and roadways. An average civil engineering major can make more than $53,000 in his or her first year out of college. Next, you'll read about an engineer who can make great pay while helping promote clean energy.
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In 2010, the average chemical engineer could make more than $64,000 a year -- right out of college. In the marketplace, chemical engineers facilitate the production and processing of chemical materials. Above, one such engineer drains freshly created bio-diesel fuel, which is made out of discarded restaurant grease, into a portable canister. Yum! Click ahead to see someone who works with computers.
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Greg Millam, the software engineer pictured above, works for Google -- one of the world's most successful Internet service companies. Most computer-related college majors, including computer science, come with the allure of extremely handsome pay. Computer science tends to put focus on software and the theoretical and philosophical principles behind how a computer thinks. See a closely-related field in the next slide.
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Though computer science and computer engineering cover a lot of the same ground, computer engineering tends to be more focused on hardware and electrical components. Above, an engineer examines a tiny microchip under magnification. Next, we'll see the practical application of an earth science.
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On first consideration, geology might not sound like a high-paying science, but geologists can do much more than just identify rocks. Graduates in geology, mining and mineral engineering can find great jobs helping companies extract mineral resources from the earth. The success of diamond mines, like the one pictured above near Mirny, Russia, often depends on geological expertise. Next, we'll see an age-old field that still pays well.
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A fresh college graduate with a degree in building construction or construction management can earn more than $50,000 a year. While not technically an engineer, a construction manager must have the technical understanding required to see a building project to a successful conclusion -- a lot of responsibility rests on his or her shoulders.
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So why would you major in mechanical engineering? Well, for starters, who but a mechanical engineer gets clearance to climb inside Big Ben and tinker with the world-famous clock's metal innards? There's a hot financial incentive, too. In 2011, mechanical engineers could achieve median mid-career earnings in the area of $80,000 a year. Read on to learn about one brand of engineer who we should all hope is well-trained.
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There's a pretty obvious reason that we need our nuclear engineers to know their stuff. Nuclear engineering majors are the masters of the atom, working with the fission and fusion of materials at the atomic level. They also command a formidable paycheck: Majoring in nuclear engineering could land you a job making, on average, about $65,000 a year, right out of college.
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You don't have to risk prison time to make good money selling drugs. Students who major in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences and administration get the know-how they need to work high-paying jobs in hospitals and pharmacies around the world, explaining, interpreting and supplying the legal drugs people need to recover from illnesses and maintain their quality of life. Read on to find out which of the social sciences can attract serious money.
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In Edinburgh, Scotland, visitors observe the dedication of a new statue of Adam Smith (1723-1790), a revered Scottish economist. Economists analyze and predict the ways that societies exchange wealth, goods and services. Since most businesses are desperate to understand the nature of the market, those who have studied economics can fetch high prices with their expertise.
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When the United States bought the aircraft carrier known as the Ronald Reagan in 1995, that single vessel cost the federal government $4.45 billion. It's easy to see why students who major in naval architecture and marine engineering can achieve median mid-career earnings of around $82,000 a year. Next, you'll read about the advantages of another type of number-cruncher.
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A concentration in finance is, all things considered, a pretty sound investment. Finance majors learn everything there is to know about money, markets, stocks, bonds and investments of every sort. Median yearly mid-career earnings are in the $87,000 range. Next, you'll see an important type of engineer who is the backbone of several industries.
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In this picture, an electrical engineer oversees the implementation of new operation equipment at the Daura Power Station in Baghdad, Iraq. Electrical engineers are needed to help design energy infrastructure, electronic appliances and telecommunication devices all around the world. On average, electrical engineering majors can make more than $60,000 in their first years out of college. Next, you'll see the cutting-edge work of aerospace engineers.
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Pictured above is a Proteus unmanned aerial vehicle, a versatile aircraft that can navigate the skies safely without the control of a pilot. Aerospace engineers create and maintain our various flying machines. An aerospace engineering major can, on average, make a yearly salary of almost $60,000 right after graduation. Next, we'll see an occupation that employs statistical expertise.
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Sports statisticians, such as the boxing statistician pictured above, log significant statistics about sporting events and use them to analyze athletic performance and predict future outcomes. This is only one of the many uses of a college degree in statistics; others include the collection and analysis of marketing figures and polling data. Statisticians in any of these fields can make excellent pay.
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Q: What do physicists have in common with most of these other professions? A: Like Stephen Hawking, shown above, most physicists are really, really good at math -- especially the kind of math that is really, really hard to understand. While physics is a field of pure science and less applicable to commerce and industry, students trained in physics can still make very good money with their expertise.
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If people ask you what you're interested in and you answer, "Y'know, stuff," have we got the perfect major for you. Materials science is a diverse field, and the students who study it can pursue careers dealing with all kinds of "stuff": glass, ceramics, alloys or even nanotechnology. Within these careers, many are poised to make more than $60,000 in their first year after graduation.
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Biomedical engineering is pretty much what it sounds like. These are the people who approach medicine, therapy and the human body like an engineering problem. Biomedical engineers are responsible for life-saving and life-changing innovations in genetic engineering, prosthetics, bionics and other important subfields of health care. Starting median salaries exceed $53,000.
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Applied mathematics is the ultimate number-cruncher's degree. Are you a whiz at math but reluctant to choose a single field of science or engineering? A course of study in applied mathematics teaches the student to apply his or her powerful understanding of numerical relationships to problems that occur in the real world, such as financial data analysis and industrial optimization.
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Industrial engineers are all about the big picture. While other engineers design and maintain the technological components that make a factory work, an industrial engineer plans and optimizes the overall infrastructure of production. First-year industrial engineers can make a median annual salary of more than $57,000. Next, you'll see a field with excellent job availability.
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If your main concern is always being able to find work, you might want to study medical assisting. Medical assisting is a broad field with an exceptionally low rate of unemployment. Medical assistants perform many important jobs for health care facilities, from administering injections and other medications to managing records and lab work. Next, you'll see what it takes to become a medical doctor.
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Some high-paying careers -- like medicine, for instance -- require specialized graduate studies. Before going to med school, students are free to take all kinds of courses, but many choose subjects like biology, which will be most closely related to the subjects they'll have to study to become physicians.
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There's no one way to prepare yourself for a career as an attorney, but before potential lawyers head off to law school, they often major in subjects that are heavy in the skills they'll need most: reading, writing and argumentation. These include history, English, political science, philosophy and other humanities.
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