Degrees in agriculture—as well as mining, teaching, medicine, physics and chemistry—are among the most desirable in the current job market, according to a recently released report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
From Hard Times to Better Times, the third in a series of CEW reports on the topic, notes that the overall job market for recent college graduates continues to improve, but graduates’ chances of finding work depend on their majors. The report analyzes changes in unemployment rates and annual wages for college graduates since 2009.
CEW researchers found that agriculture and natural resources majors in their early 20s saw unemployment rates spike to 7 percent in 2009-2010 but have since seen them drop to 4.5 percent.
Median annual earnings cited for graduates with an undergrad degree in agriculture or natural sciences between 2011 and 2012 were $34,000 for graduates ages 22 to 26 and $59,000 for those who were 35 to 54. For holders of a graduate degree in agriculture or natural sciences, median annual earnings were $53,000 for graduates ages 24 to 34 and $78,000 for those who were 35 to 54.
The full report is available at cew.georgetown.edu/report/
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