Talk with the career counselor at your university. While you can use general guidelines to compare degrees by salary, this information is always changing, and the next most lucrative degree might not have even existed 5 years ago. Your career counselor can help you wade through the different options.
Find out if the jobs you can get are in the private sector or the public sector. While some high-level government positions in the public sector can command large salaries, you can move up corporate ladders in nearly any corporation and make a larger salary by going into the private sector.
Look into engineering and technology fields, which offer some of the fastest growing and most lucrative career choices; each field has a corresponding college major. Five of the top ten majors that lead to high salaries are in the engineering field, and engineering claims seven of the top ten spots, according to PayScale.com.
Pay attention to majors in math, finance and economics. These degrees tend to not only lead to higher salaries but they also have a lot of potential for growth throughout your career.
Find out if adding an advanced degree after your undergraduate degree can increase your earning potential. Some careers do not have growth options available for those with Master’s or Doctorate degrees. However, other majors, such as education, can increase your earning potential when you acquire an advanced degree.