What college degree creates the highest unemployment and highest employment?

Lia Argall: I also read that article; it was misleading and uninformed. There are very few astrophysics programs in the US, and almost all jobs in the field require a PhD. However, majoring in astrophysics means you've taken a lot of math, physics, and usually computer science, and studying THOSE fields makes you very employable. Just not in astrophysics. Despite that one guy they interviewed, who got a bachelors in astrophysics and was then hired by his school to run the planetarium, there are very few jobs in the field for a bachelors degree and it's not much better with a PhD. He had no idea what he was talking about. While those fields do have good employment, it's not 0% unemployment. They only talked to a few people and had very low-number statistics (if 5 people majored in that and all 5 got a job doing something, related or unrelated, that's 0% unemployment). Right now, the highest employment rates are in education and health care (around 5% unemployment).! At the bachelors level, they don't pay very well, but they're still in demand, more than most other majors.The highest unemployment rates right now are in architecture (more than 13% can't find a job)....Show more

Glynda Darrin: See link below.It is hard to get a job with just an undergraduate degree in psychology, art or history. Many psychologists with doctorates and many artists are self-employed. Also, I suspect that you mean pharmacy, rather than pharmacology (which is usually a graduate level degree and involves drug research rather than working in a pharmacy)....Show more

Freeman Rutkin: I know that you asked about employment rates, specifically highest unemployment and highest employment. It is hard to provide a definitive answer because there are so many different studies that have been done that yield different statistics. One study suggests that Architecture produces an unemployment rate of 13% while the next one claims it's only 9.2%. One thin! g they do agree on, Architecture is #1 for unemployment. A st! udy done in 2011 showed that Economics was the 10th best major for employment. Now a study I read just a few months ago, shows that in 2012 Economics is the #10 for unemployment. It's kind of crazy how quickly that changed! It could very well be due to the Methodology (like Eri pointed out about that one article in particular) that was used in conducting the studies. One thing that remains true from year to year is that College Majors that lead to the best chance of employment right out college, with only a Bachelor's Degree, are in the Mathematics and Sciences- Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Biochemistry and Statistics Majors (and other Science/Math areas) will find themselves very pleased. Those that majored in Child and Family Studies, Social Work/Psychology, Philosophy, Art History, Theater and/or Leisure Studies (as well as other Humanities and Fine Arts) may find themselves disappointed in the number and types of jobs that they qualify for, as well as ! the pay scale for these jobs....Show more