Business

You want to make the big bucks and we want to help. We won't even ask why you need all that money in the first place. It could be for a facial transplant, Face/Off style. Or maybe you haven't filed taxes since John Adams was president. We don't judge, but we can tell you which majors will help you reach your goals...however weird those goals may be. 

Business is probably the safest bet for your financial future. You may balk at salaries starting at around $52,000 per year, but financial managers with experience net close to $125,000 per year, and marketing managers earn even more (source). Just remember ol' Shmoop when you're rolling in money. 

Medicine

It's an incredible responsibility to help people live better, longer, and healthier lives. It also happens to be a pretty lucrative field, but you're way too upstanding to even consider the financial perks of studying medicine, right? 

Well, don't take a vow of poverty just yet. You'll have the potential to earn up to $500,000 per year (as a surgeon) and even the low end of this career path starts at over $50,000 per year (source). It's a tough field with difficult hours, but if you do end up practicing medicine, we've just got one question for you: 

Would you mind writing us a letter of recommendation?

Law

So we rented Frozen a few weeks ago and now we can't stop singing that song. You know the one. Do you think we've got a case if we file a lawsuit for pain and suffering?

Just kidding. It's a great song. Still, this is probably the kind of question you'll get asked by your friends and family on a regular basis if you go into law. We would advise you to charge them for your time because not all lawyers are as well-paid as you might think. And also because giving your labor away for free is generally a bad policy.

Anyway, you may be looking at a salary of $50,000 per year for a while (source). The good news is that top-earning lawyers can bring in $160,000 per year (source). Now, about that time the local coffee shop served us the wrong drink…

Accounting

Your math skills are better than most and you're comfortable navigating complex systems. Have you considered accounting? No? In that case, let us drop some knowledge on you. Accountants command a median salary of $63,000 per year, while financial managers have the potential to make over $100,000 per year (source). 

There are also related career paths that can net a higher average income. Financial analysts, for example, earn a median income of over $75,000 per year (source). Those numbers are nothing to scoff at...and our accountant certainly seems to do well for himself.

Computer Science and Information Systems Management

You'll be spending a lot of time in front of your computer, so you may want to invest in a comfortable chair. It'll be worth it, though; only 10% of computer and information system managers earn less than $74,000 per year, and the top 10% earn over $180,000 per year (source). The hours are long and there's the potential for overtime, but at least you'll never be bored. (Or poor. Or poor and bored.) 

Computer science majors have a lot of career options to choose from: information technology (IT) architect ($123,000 per year median pay), data scientist ($114,000 per year median pay), or management consultant ($105,000 per year median pay) (source). And most of these careers require only a Bachelor's degree in the subject, so you'll be making fat stacks in no time.