In a post yesterday, I shared a list from PayScale of the 20 job categories for college graduates with the least variation between average starting salaries and average salaries at mid-career. What follows is another list derived from the PayScale data, of the 20 job categories for college graduates for which the highest percentage of those in the fields reported finding their work to be “meaningful.”
I have highlighted in blue the categories that appear in both lists.
I suppose that one could argue that at least some percentage of those in relatively low-paying jobs might over-compensate by perceiving their work to be more meaningful than it actually is.
Nonetheless, what is very striking to me is that this list includes relatively few STEM or STEM-related job categories that are not also in the previous list. There is only one engineering field in this list—mining engineering—which is surprising since I would think that other engineering fields would be challenging and perceived as very meaningful by most of those employed in them.
That there are no business-related job categories, outside of medicine-related positions, is encouraging to me and yet surprising. One hears many people talk about business in very moral terms—as if making money is something akin to a vocation. According to this mindset, one’s personal prosperity is simply a reflection of how much one is contributing to the general prosperity. But perhaps those talking points don’t really resonate on a deep level with even many of those who repeat them most habitually.
- Early-Childhood Education
Most common jobs: Daycare teacher, preschool teacher (excluding special education), elementary-school teacher
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 77%
Starting median pay: $30,300
Mid-career median pay: $38,000
- Health Administration
Most common jobs: Administrative assistant, practice manager, office manager
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 77%
Starting median pay: $34,600
Mid-career median pay: $56,100
- Human Services
Most common jobs: Medical case manager, social worker, administrative assistant
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 78%
Starting median pay: $34,100
Mid-career median pay: $43,400
- Health
Most common jobs: Registered nurse, administrative assistant, office manager
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 78%
Starting median pay: $38,200
Mid-career median pay: $67,400
- Safety Management
Most common jobs: Safety manager, environmental health and safety manager, safety director
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 79%
Starting median pay: $52,600
Mid-career median pay: $80,800
- Mining Engineering
Most common jobs: Mining engineer, mine engineer, civil engineer
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 79%
Starting median pay: $71,500
Mid-career median pay: $109,000
- Radiologic Technology
Most common jobs: Radiology technologist, magnetic-resonance-imaging technologist, computer-tomography technologist
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 79%
Starting median pay: $46,600
Mid-career median pay: $63,800
- Respiratory Therapy
Most common jobs: Respiratory therapist, respiratory-therapy manager, respiratory director
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 80%
Starting median pay: $46,400
Mid-career median pay: $62,300
- Therapeutic Recreation
Most common jobs: Recreation therapist, activities director, therapeutic-recreation director
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 80%
Starting median pay: $33,800
Mid-career median pay: $48,000
- Athletic Training
Most common jobs: Athletic trainer, physical-therapy assistant, assistant athletic trainer
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 80%
Starting median pay: $35,900
Mid-career median pay: $48,300
- Counseling
Most common jobs: Addiction counselor, office manager, social worker
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 81%
Starting median pay: $32,300
Mid-career median pay: $40,900
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Most common jobs: Ultrasound technologist, echocardiographer, vascular technologist
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 81%
Starting median pay: $57,700
Mid-career median pay: $70,800
- Early-Childhood and Elementary Education
Most common jobs: Elementary-school teacher, preschool teacher (excluding special education), daycare teacher
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 81%
Starting median pay: $32,900
Mid-career median pay: $42,300
- Dental Hygiene
Most common jobs: Dental hygienist, dental-office manager, dental-hygiene instructor
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 82%
Starting median pay: $65,800
Mid-career median pay: $72,800
- Nursing
Most common jobs: Registered nurse, registered emergency-room nurse, registered operating-room nurse
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 83%
Starting median pay: $56,600
Mid-career median pay: $73,600
- Respiratory Care
Most common jobs: Respiratory therapist, respiratory-services supervisor, registered polysomnographic technologist
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 84%
Starting median pay: $47,800
Mid-career median pay: $64,000
- Clinical Laboratory Science
Most common jobs: Laboratory technologist, clinical laboratory scientist, laboratory supervisor
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 84%
Starting median pay: $47,400
Mid-career median pay: $60,100
- Community Health Education
Most common jobs: Patient-health educator, wellness coordinator, nonprofit-program coordinator
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 84%
Starting median pay: $35,900
Mid-career median pay: $56,500
- Pastoral Ministry
Most common jobs: Pastor, associate pastor, senior pastor
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 91%
Starting median pay: $34,500
Mid-career median pay: $49,600
- Medical Laboratory Science
Most common jobs: Laboratory technologist, clinical laboratory scientist, laboratory supervisor
Percentage who find their job meaningful: 97%
Starting median pay: $46,200
Mid-career median pay: $61,500
“There is only one engineering field in this list—mining engineering—…”
That’s interesting, and surprising to me too. I have noticed that Schools of Mines (even if now expanded and called something else) tend to have a notable esprit de corps. And….
“He’s a ramblin’ wreck from Golden Tech* and a heck of an engineer.
A shootin’, fightin’, dynamitin’ mining engineer……”
________
*Colorado School of Mines, at Golden, Colorado. Their fight song apparently antedates the more famous Georgia Tech version by a decade or so.
Reblogged this on Ohio Higher Ed.