college majors

When history tallies up the biggest losers of the Great Recession, it's not hard to guess who will top the list. Facing a brutal job market, plummeting wages, and a mountain of debt, many recent college grads have fallen behind before they've officially started their careers.

Forget about globalization studies or underwater archaeology, the hot majors for 2011 are still some of the most traditional. Of the 1.5 million bachelor's degrees awarded in the United States in recent years, business degrees were No. 1, followed by those in social sciences/history, health...

There aren't many surprises on the lists of which college majors tend to yield the lowest salaries. But what matters more than your major is what you do with your degree after you graduate. These courses of study may do poorly on average, but the skills they teach could turn you into a big winner.

The compensation experts at Payscale recently reported on the best- and worst-paying college majors in America -- but don't put all your faith in those averages. Yes, salaries are lower for those who studied social work or art history, but it's what you do with your degree that really counts.

Eilene Zimmerman over at The New York Times offers some great advice for a parent who wants to know "What, if anything, can parents of high-school-age children do to guide them toward their true professional calling?" Zimmerman writes: "Some parents are apt to put pressure on their children about...

From the pages of the Wall Street Journal this morning (subscription required) comes a new survey that reveals what we've all long suspected. Where you go to college does indeed matter in terms of pay. Payscale, Inc., an online provider of global compensation data, recently released the findings of...