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Most Black College Students Choosing to Major in These 3 Low-Paying Fields

Black college students

Getting a college degree is important in order to secure a successful career. The good news is that college enrollment by black students has increased from 10 percent to 15 percent from 1976 to 2012, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The bad news is that only 5 percent of black students are pursuing degrees in high-paying career areas, such as engineering and architecture.

Not all degrees pay off in career success

Majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as business, education, and health care, have greater future earnings power and job status. But few blacks are choosing these majors, with the exception of business.

They are choosing to major in these 5 low-paying fields:

#1 - social work
#2 - health and medical administrative services
#3 - human services.

While giving back may be important to them, blacks who choose these majors will end up in lower-paying jobs than the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields.

Only 5% of Black students choosing high paying fields

A report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce shows that, while engineering and architecture degrees pay median salaries of $76,000 to $84,000 per year, these fields draw just 5 percent of black Americans.

Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown Center and co-author of the report, commented that more career counseling is needed in order to steer black students toward majors that result in more lucrative jobs. He added, "Today, college is an investment in a career as much as it is an investment in an education. And that reality still hasn’t found its way on campus."

Read more by visiting www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-09/report-few-black-college-students-major-in-high-paying-fields



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