With a college degree being the standard for many entry-level jobs today, the pressure to attend college and graduate is at a high. While it’s clear that your college major isn’t always a reflection of what your career will be, Kiplinger conducted an examination of 129 popular college majors to identify what fields of study lead to the least career growth.
Taking a look at the salary of both recent graduates and experience workers, as well as the projected job growth over a 10-year time span, here is a breakdown of the top 10 worst college majors for the 2014-2015 year.
1. Exercise Science
With only 797 online job postings annually and a starting salary of $32,600, exercise science majors don’t always see the return investment financially for their studies. Over a 10-year time span, the projected job growth for this industry is 9.2 percent with mid-career professionals making an average of $51,000.
Alternative Major: Health Sciences
2. Horticulture
While horticulture majors are an expert at plants and growing greenery in your garden, that same expertise does not translate into cash. Tthe starting salary for horticulture majors is $35,200 and the mid-career salary is $50,900 with a -19.3 percent job growth rate over 10 years.
Alternative Major: Landscape Architecture
3. Animal Science
While many animal science majors pursue advanced degrees, an animal scientist who holds a professional or doctorate degree only makes a median salary of $61,680, making grad school a steep investment with a limited reward. With a starting salary of $33,600 and a mid-career salary of 55,200, animal scientists tend to find themselves in a bind with only an 8.8 percent projected job growth rate over 10 years.Â
Alternative Major: Food Science
4. Music
It’s no secret that music is an industry where only a select few find financial success. With a starting salary of $35,700 and a mid-career salary of $51,400, music has 6,477 annual online job postings and only a 5.2 percent career growth rate over 10 years.
Alternative Major: History
5. Biblical Studies
Biblical study majors collect a starting average salary of $35,400, with a mid-career salary of $50,800. With 12,384 annual online job postings and an 8.4 percent job growth over 10 years, many biblical study majors also go back to graduate school, but their median salary only reaches $64,990.
Alternative Major: Philosophy
6. Child and Family Studies
While child and family studies majors have a high rate of 54,876 annual online job postings, their low starting salary of $30,300 and low mid-career salary of $37,200, may make it hard for them to provide for their families.
Alternative Major: Sociology
7. Culinary Arts
With no explicit qualifications on what it takes to become a cook, a lot of high school students skip the college process and work their way up in the restaurant business, making a culinary arts major less likely to be worth the financial investment. The starting salary for culinary arts major’s is $34,800 and the median salary is $51,100 with a 5.2 projected career growth over 10 years.
Alternative Major: Business Administration
8. Photography
With talented photographers holding only a high school diploma getting hired for their work, earning a college degree in photography can often times seem like a pointless investment. The starting salary for photography majors is $36,200 and the median salary is $55,500, with only a 4.3 percent projected job growth rate over 10 years.
Alternative Major: Film Production
9. Social Work
While there is certainly a high demand for social workers, as there are 132, 267 annual job postings for the industry, the starting salary for a social worker is $33, 000 and the mid-career salary is $46,600.
Alternative Major: Public Administration
10. Art History
The starting salary for art history majors is $36,900 and the average mid-career salary is $59,000, with a projected 10-year job growth rate of 7.1 percent.
Alternative Major: Art Education