College attendance in the US increased by 50% between 1986 and 2011, with most new entrants studying humanities. The number of students in STEM fields has remained the same or decreased, and 40% of graduates end up in jobs that don’t require a degree. Disciplines with the best job placement include education, engineering, math, and computer science. Humanities students have the lowest job placement rates.
College attendance in the United States increased by about 50 percent between 1986 and 2011. Most new entrants studied in humanities fields such as visual arts, performing arts, and communications. The number of students in mathematics, technology, science and engineering has remained at the same level or decreased. More students graduated with computer science degrees in 1986 than in 2009, and there were only about 500 more mathematics and statistics graduates in 2009 than there were 25 years earlier.
Learn more about education level:
Students in science, math, technology and engineering are much more likely to be international students than US students. Indeed, the number of US students in these disciplines has decreased.
About 40% of US college graduates end up in jobs that don’t require a college degree.
Disciplines that have the best job placement record after graduation include education, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. Health, physical sciences, and business also have high placement rates. Only about 45 percent of humanities students get jobs that require a college degree, compared to more than 60 percent of healthcare students and about 70 percent of education students.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
