Who makes more: Electrical engineering, economics or education majors?

The engineers win this contest, according to PayScale.com. The site, which collects data on salaries for a variety of professions, has now compiled data on the salaries of 1.2 million graduates who received a bachelor's degree from hundreds of universities and colleges. The information is self-reported, so it is not a randomized, scientific sample. Also, it does not include anyone who went on for further education after a bachelor's degree.

Quantitative-oriented degrees, such as engineering, science, mathematics and economics, filled most of the top slots in both the highest starting median salaries and highest mid-career median salaries. "A student's choice of major has a huge impact mid-career, enormous," Al Lee, PayScale's director of quantitative analysis, told The New York Times.

Top 10 college majors with the highest starting salaries:
1. Chemical engineering: $65,700
2. Computer engineering: $61,700
3. Electrical engineering: $60,200
4. Aerospace engineering: $59,600
5. Mechanical engineering: $58,900
6. Industrial engineering: $57,100
7. Computer science: $56,400
8. Civil engineering: $55,100
9. Construction management: $53,400
10. Management information systems: $51,900

Top 10 college majors with the highest mid-career salaries:
1. Aerospace engineering: $109,000
2. Chemical engineering: $107,000
3. Computer engineering: $105,000
4. Electrical engineering: $102,000
5. Economics: $101,000
6. Physics: $98,800
7. Mechanical engineering: $98,300
8. Computer science: $97,400
9. Industrial engineering: $95,000
10. Environmental engineering: $94,500

Top 10 college majors with the lowest mid-career salaries:
1. Social work: $41,600
2. Elementary education: $42,400
3. Theology: $51,500
4. Music: $52,000
5. Spanish: $52,600
6. Horticulture: $53,400
7. Education: $54,100
8. Hospitality and tourism: $54,300
9. Fine arts: $56,300
10. Drama: $56,600

Fun facts to know and tell:

• By mid-career, those who chose one of the top five majors--aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering or economics--have a median salary of more than $100,000 annually.
  
• Economics majors have the fifth highest mid-career median salary, the 17th-highest starting salary and the highest salary at the 90th percentile, mid-career mark.
  
• By mid-career, philosophy majors typically earn more than information technology majors. Why? Students who major in philosophy are more likely to go to elite schools than students who choose information technology as a major. In this case, it isn't the major that is making the difference, but rather the college.