10. English
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Unemployment rate: 6.7% (average for all graduates with bachelor’s degree: 4.9%)
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 9.2% (average for top 100 majors: 7.7%)
Median salary: $48,000 (median for all grads with bachelor’s: $54,756)
Median salary for recent grads: $32,000 (median for top 100 majors: $37,000)
Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 6% (average: 14%)
Likelihood of working retail: 1.4 times average
Author G.K. Chesterton once called literature "a luxury," which might be true for cash-strapped English grads. A hallmark of most liberal arts programs, English hasn't fared well in the down economy. Nearly one in ten recent English grads struggles to find work, and starting salaries are low, a full 14% below the median for the top 100 majors. More problematic: That situation doesn't improve much with experience. Even older English grads stand to make nearly $9,000 less than the median bachelor’s degree holder, who pockets $54,756 a year.
ThinkstockUnemployment rate: 6.7% (average for all graduates with bachelor’s degree: 4.9%)
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 9.2% (average for top 100 majors: 7.7%)
Median salary: $48,000 (median for all grads with bachelor’s: $54,756)
Median salary for recent grads: $32,000 (median for top 100 majors: $37,000)
Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 6% (average: 14%)
Likelihood of working retail: 1.4 times average
Author G.K. Chesterton once called literature "a luxury," which might be true for cash-strapped English grads. A hallmark of most liberal arts programs, English hasn't fared well in the down economy. Nearly one in ten recent English grads struggles to find work, and starting salaries are low, a full 14% below the median for the top 100 majors. More problematic: That situation doesn't improve much with experience. Even older English grads stand to make nearly $9,000 less than the median bachelor’s degree holder, who pockets $54,756 a year.
