The unemployed or underemployed millennial has been a common cliché for quite some time now, and while the concept of the barista with a Ph.D. will continue to be fodder for late night comedians and satirists, research shows that the gap between those with a college education and those without is widening. However, majors are not all created equally.
Researchers at the Pew Research Institute compiled data of the average earning of the last five major generational categories and broke them down into three categories-those with a four-year college degree, those with a two-year degree of some college and those with only a high school education.
The study found that millennials without any form of higher education were having a much harder time supporting themselves than their counterparts in other generations. The average mean income is down more than 20 percent from those of the same age in 1965, and the percentage of those living in poverty has almost doubled since 1986.
On the other hand, after inflation adjustment, those with a four-year degree are earning 16 percent more on average in salary than their counterparts in 1965, while those with only a high school education earn 7 percent less over the same timeframe.
Research also suggests that in most fields, advanced degrees tend to pay off more so than a bachelor's degree alone, despite the rising cost of education.
In another study done by the Pew Research Institute, researchers found that the median adjusted monthly household income for those with only a bachelor's degree only rose by 17 percent since 1984, while those with a master's saw an increase of 23 percent and those with a doctorate saw an increase of 34 percent.
The same study also found that median adjusted monthly household income for those without a four-year degree or just a high school education fell over the same time period.
However, the researchers admit that this data only applies to employed individuals. When broken down by major, the average median income and unemployment rates vary.
With data taken from the 2010 U.S. Census, the Wall Street Journal compiled a list of 173 majors and ranked them in terms of unemployment rate, median earnings and popularity.
The study showed that popularity and practicality were not necessarily congruent.
Business management, accounting, nursing and psychology were all in the top five in terms of popularity, but posted pedestrian unemployment rates and median salaries, with the exception of nursing which boasted an employment rate of only 2.2 percent and the highest median income of the group.
Petroleum engineering took top billing in the median salary category at $127,000. Various engineering degrees overwhelmingly rounded out the top 10 with the exception of pharmaceutical sciences and administration, which came in second with $105,000.
There were six majors that had a zero percent unemployment rate, but were all among the lowest in terms of popularity. They were mostly dominated by sciences such as astronomy and astrophysics, geological engineering, actuarial science and pharmacology.
On the other hand, clinical psychology had the highest unemployment rate by a wide margin at 19.5 percent. Miscellaneous fine arts, U.S. history and library science also had employment rates above 15 percent.
Students at the University of Memphis that wish to explore different careers and majors, or just want to enhance their professional development within their major can visit the office of Career Services located at 400 Wilder Tower.
"What we primarily do is work with students to determine if they are in the right major based on their academic strengths, work interest, personality and other different factors," Career Advisor Eric Bailey said. "Also, we work on everything that they need to do outside of the classroom."
Career services also helps students gain confidence during interviews, write professional resumes and look into possible graduate programs. However, Bailey advises students not to wait until their senior year before visiting Career Services.
"Employers now are requesting some type of experience to go along with that degree," Bailey said. "So we have to start figuring out how to get that experience while we are actually still in college."
