Your earnings should be at least 62 percent higher than that of your peers who have only a high school education.
College graduates earning advanced degrees face even better news.
The three authors are all professors at Northwestern University. Neeta Fogg and Paul Harrington are economists at Northwestern's Center for Labor Market Studies. Thomas Harrington is a counseling psychologist who teaches vocation psychology and career counseling. They have pooled their research and studies to take specific looks at 60 of the most sought-after college degrees, from aerospace engineering to visual arts. Much of the information provided is from the National Survey of College Graduates, which sampled more than 148,000 college graduates to gather data on education, employment, and earnings experience.