Two ways to check if a major pays off
Every school reports different things, so MajorPays shows you whichever of these two is actually available for the major you're looking at:
What it is — real graduates
What actual grads earn
Real, reported pay for people who studied that exact major at that exact school — not a guess. This comes straight from IRS-matched earnings records via the U.S. Dept. of Education's College Scorecard. See each school's real earnings alongside how its own tuition and net price have moved over time.
What it should be — national estimate
The national outlook
For majors without real reported pay yet, we show the typical jobs linked to it nationwide, with pay and job growth over the next 10 years — sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET.
Where do you want to start?
Not sure? Browse Career Compass
Explore all 1,016 careers by pay, on-the-job training required, and what interests you — no need to know what you're looking for yet.
See real earnings by school
Search your school and see what its actual graduates went on to earn, by major — real reported pay, not a guess.
See national outlook by school
Search your school and see the typical jobs, pay, and growth for each of its majors, nationwide.
Compare schools by major
Pick a major and see every school with real reported grad pay for it, listed alphabetically side by side with cost and more.
Compare any schools, places or states
Choose up to four schools, counties, cities, ZIP codes or states and see their published figures side by side. Nothing is ranked. Tools for careers and majors are in the menu.
Start from a career
Already know the job you want? Look it up and see which majors actually lead there.
Start from a major
Not sure which school yet? Look up any major to see its typical careers and pay nationwide.
Find colleges on a map
See every college and university in the country on one map, filter by state, type, size and setting, and open any school's page.