DESIGN v. STEM DEGREES: DESIGN CAN BE WORTH MORE

There has been tremendous attention given to STEM education and the higher earning potential for degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math as compared to design. A recent survey conducted and published by the Washington Post reveals very little difference in earning potential during the first 5 to 10 years of a person’s career once they have earned a STEM degree versus a design degree, and in fact many degrees in the humanities (which would include design disciplines) earn more. The conclusions when making comparisons between a bachelor’s design degree as compared to a bachelor’s degree in science (biology), technology (information technology), engineering (electrical engineering) or math, shows an insignificant earning difference between a biological sciences degree and a design degree during the first 10 years of experience after earning these degrees. (Click on the graph to enlarge).

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