The difference in potential earnings and average starting salaries between humanities graduates and science graduates is staggering.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary for engineers is $62,891 while those in humanities and social sciences are earning a starting salary of $38,049. 

Every semester, the Office of Institutional Planning and Research conducts a future plans survey of the graduating class. The survey indicates that students in engineering have a starting income of $60,484 while humanities and social sciences students earn $37,227 on average.

Woody Catoe, CHASS career counselor with the Career Development Center, strives to help students find the career path that best suits their strengths and interests. 

“I want students to find work that’s going to be satisfying and fulfilling,” Catoe said.

Catoe stresses the big picture with students, what they want to do as a career and who the job market is hiring. 

Catoe believes students can make themselves hirable by supplementing their education with additional experiences. 

“A college degree does not magically open doors,” Catoe said. “A degree is a core in which you build around with [internships and leadership experiences].”

According to Catoe, humanities and social science majors know they have less potential earnings.

“Most CHASS majors come into their majors with their eyes open,” Catoe said. “They know that it’s hard to compete salary-wise with the sciences, which has always been typically higher. There is not an expectation that there is going to be six figures coming out of college.”

There is also definitely a spread in the job market: Science majors face a different reality than humanities majors. 

Less than 27 percent of CHASS majors have secured employment at graduation as opposed to 55 percent of engineering majors, according to the future plans survey.

Straight-out-of-school science majors are often approached by businesses, whereas students in humanities are much less in demand and have to spend extended periods of time searching for a job.

Alex Kubacki, a graduate in electrical engineering, computer engineering and computer science, was hired at SAS as a technical consultant right after graduation. 

“I don’t know anyone who graduated with me or the year before me in my majors that doesn’t currently have a job,” Kubacki said. 

Kubacki said he thinks students should major in something they love and that they are good at, but choose a major that will make them competitive in the workforce.

“You get what you put into it,” Kubacki said. “There are easy majors that you can finish in four years and take a lot of electives, but they don’t end up panning out into careers right out of college.”

Humanities majors are more likely to work in the service industry after graduation and to be employed outside their major.

The largest employers of CHASS majors by industry are education and military, according to the future plans survey. 

Jordan Woertman, a freshman in engineering, said he was unsure of what he wanted to do with his degree after graduation, but he has plans for joining the U.S. Air Force.

“I picked engineering because of what I’m good at and what I enjoy doing: math and science,” Woertman said. 

Kara Spangler, a freshman in computer science, said she intends to pursue a career in gaming. 

“I would like to work for a video game company [after I graduate],” Spangler said.

People with a bachelor’s degree generally earn more than people without a degree, and college-educated people are still less likely to be unemployed, according to Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends.

Spangler said future earnings did influence her choice of major, but not as much as other factors. 

“I chose my major more for the purpose behind what I was doing to help people,” Spangler said.

Jordan Alsaqa, a creative writing alumnus and former Features Editor for the Technician, works part-time in retail at a game store and writes freelance for a TV website.

Alsaqa has been searching for a job in creative writing that can support him for 16 months. 

“My goal long-term is to write creatively, but it’s not the type of thing you do right out of college,” Alsaqa said.

“It’s a lot of applying for jobs that are out there, but not necessarily having as much luck finding one,” Alsaqa said.

Alsaqa said knowing his potential earning wouldn’t make him change his major.

“I’ve been wanting to write since fifth grade,”Alsaqa said.

Alsaqa suggests English majors seek variety in their degree and supplement their education with extracurricular activities. 

“Try and find something on campus that sets you apart, whether it be Technician or some other English-related activity,” Alsaqa said.