The world has changed a lot in the last few years. For aspiring college students, that has meant they need to start factoring in what careers may no longer be in demand.

The majors that once promised lucrative futures may no longer offer such bright prospects. That is why it is time to look at the facts now when deciding what to go to school for.

As broken down by Fortune, here are the best paying majors a student can choose in 2022.

General Engineering

A running theme you will see on this list is the popularity of engineering. Even non-specialized engineering has an average early salary projection of $62,000.

Civil Engineering

This engineering path focuses more on commonly used public structures, such as roads and sewer lines. It averages out to around $63,000 per year to start.

Miscellaneous Engineering

This basically means any engineering path not covered by one of the other more common engineering majors. They typically pay around $65,000 early on.

Mechanical Engineering

As the name suggests, this major focuses on engineering for moving objects such as machines. Base salaries are around $68,000.

Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering can be used to improve the efficiency of operations, such as determining methods to expedite a manufacturing line. Pay starts at $69,000.

Electrical Engineering

This is the major if you enjoy working with anything electrical, such as motors or generators. This is the first major on the list to crack $70,000.

Chemical Engineering

Not all engineering requires focusing on buildings and machines. For a starting salary of $70,000, chemical engineers aid in producing products such as fuel and medicine.

Aerospace Engineering

For an early salary of $70,000, apply your engineering skills to help develop spacecraft.

Computer Science

The one major on this list that is not directly focused on engineering. For $70,000, a computer science major often works on developing new computer software and hardware.

Computer Engineering

Lastly, the engineering side of working on computers helps design the latest devices. To start, those in this major can expect to earn $74,000.

Obviously, there is a strong trend in 2022’s majors towards making new things. Also worth noting, all salaries mentioned here are only for new graduates. Close to mid-career, STEM work in general often makes in the six-figures.

For the full list of all 15 of the highest paying majors for the year, check out the article from Fortune here.

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