10 Lowest Paying College Degrees & Careers You Need To Avoid

The following list of college degrees are ranked from the tenth lowest paying, all the way to the number one worst starting
salary for a university graduate. Please keep in mind while scanning the list that the main focus is on what you can expect to earn starting out, and not after years of experience and/or training.

Disclaimer: 

The content on bakkacima.blogspot.com is for informational purposes only. We are not experts, nor do we claim to be. Many of these articles are opinion based articles and should be taken as such. We will not be held liable for decisions users make based off the content on bakkacima.blogspot.com. Please do your research before accepting any information as fact.

10. Performing Arts

This degree encompasses all forms of theater, music, dance, public speaking, and related pursuits. Graduates frequently use this training as a boost in other high-profile professions. While it can certainly be a lot of fun to study, unless you develop into a world-class performer, you can expect a rather mediocre starting salary of $38,000.

9. Horticulture

Students cultivate and propagate plants as research models to provide technical advise to fruit, vegetable, flower growers and farmers. Another important area of study is how to develop plants with better pest and disease resistance. Although there is a lot of work available, it’s mostly in the lower-paying ($37,000) landscaping field.

8. Hospitality and Tourism

Traditionally called Hotel Management, this degree now refers to all forms of service in hotels, motels, conferencing, restaurant management, and special events/concerts. As this is considered a business profession, continued education and training will be expected of graduates. The prospect of ongoing training and a starting salary of $36,000 may not be very attractive, but with the current robust economy, these wages are bound to get better.

7. Education

Once the appropriate courses are taken, graduates with this degree will be qualified to teach everything from preschool to high school. There is a real shortage of teachers available in all grades, but especially in the special-needs classes. However, this demand doesn’t necessarily translate to great pay ($36,000), and in fact, elementary school teachers currently rank at the bottom in this category at $33,000.

6. Theology

The study of world religions, with their different views and values, is the main focus of this degree. The student will be encouraged to develop a keen appreciation for vast diversity and striking similarities between religions. Since most employment is in the somewhat limited areas of the clergy and university employment, the starting salary of $35,000/yr reflects this lack of real paying jobs.

5. Social Work

A college degree in this field prepares the graduate for the professional practice of social welfare administration and counceling, with an emphasis on organizing the means to provide basic services to at-risk people or groups. If dealing with constantly changing government red tape and regulations is not your idea of fun, the $34,000/yr to start won’t help at all to change your mind.

4. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure

The widely diverse combination of business administration, physical education, and sports science studies will be a major part of this career training. Management courses will be fine tuned to all sorts of different recreational facilities. For some, this can be a very rewarding and fun profession, but it’s hard to ignore the low-pay ($33,000/yr) and current lack of jobs.

3. Culinary Arts

Graduates will receive lots of training in all aspects cooking and baking, along with business and finance courses to prepare for eventual restaurant ownership or management. With the stiff competition for good jobs, and many of those jobs being very demanding and stressful, you won’t be rewarded very handsomely at $33,000/yr.

2. Child Development and Psychology

You will learn about the unique emotional and mental needs of children, and how to best provide compassionate support. Graduates usually go into social work, education, or research, which unfortunately, are all low-paying jobs ($32,000/yr). However, once you become a licensed counselor or therapist, your wages will naturally go up.

1. Animal Science

This is the study of animal biology, anatomy, and physiology, mainly for training in the livestock agricultural industry. Initially, the jobs most widely available are in the support of farms and ranches, and thus the pay is quite low ($31,000), but better wages are to had in research and lab work.

Ideally, someone shouldn’t be forced to choose a career based strictly on salary, but often times, doing what you truly love won’t pay the bills. However, some of the aforementioned pursuits can serve as stepping stones to more lucrative employment. In a more enlightened world, jobs such as preschool teaching, child development, and social work would be highly respected and richly compensated. Perhaps in the future this will be the case, but for now, the STEM majors remain the best investment for your educational time and money.