This probably explains the many college degrees that get jobs for their holders that are not too high-paying, in fact they are poorly paid jobs and only help them qualify for a job in a helping profession.
Obviously these people are not motivated by money alone. They live by the adage that money cannot buy you happiness, but the work that you do surely can buy happiness.
Here is a list of degrees that don't pay much. So if only earning a fat-purse at the end of the month is your goal, then stay away from them and do your regular MBA or Computer Technology courses - but if helping others is your goal, then go for them.
Of course you always have the option of furthering your education and increasing your earning capacity. What you are doing today need not necessarily be what you will be doing ten years from now.
1) Child and Family Studies
This degree is the lowest paying in the list that I have mentioned here. Of course there is scope for enhancement and you can take it a notch further and do a course in education or family counselling. This degree teaches you parenting, which by itself is a very fulfilling and rewarding job, however, its starting salary and mid-career salary are nothing to write home about. A starting salary would be around $29,600, whilst it could go up to $40,500 after a few years of experience.
2) Elementary Education
Teaching is a noble career. It prepares the leaders of tomorrow. But the salaries are low. When state budgets are low and deficits have to be met, teachers are amongst the first to be laid off. Teachers command a starting median salary of $32,400 and a mid-career salary of $44,000
3) Social Work
No words of commendation and praise can be enough for the social worker. Their work impacts people from every walk of life, the poor, the deprived, the sick and the elderly. They work in rural areas, where others are reluctant to go and willingly and cheerfully do work that is hard and very difficult to do. Yet their remuneration is not very good. Social workers command a starting median salary of $32,200 and a mid-career salary of $44,300
4) Culinary Arts
This is a good degree for those who love their food and if they have it in them, can work their way to become chefs or even open their own restaurants. They get to cook delicious meals and if the joint is good, meet some very interesting people. Meals are, more often than not, included in the day's work, so you are not earning for your bread alone. The only drawback is that at times the tips tally more than the salary which is a less than $30,000 to begin with and after a few years in the kitchen, can expand to $46,800.
5) Special Education
Irrespective of what this pays you, the special education teachers deserve a big round of applause and all the commendations that we can gather. Their job entails the education of physically or mentally handicapped children whose needs cannot be met in an ordinary classroom. There work is something of which they can be justifiably proud.
Established licensing to become a special education educator requires the completion of at least a bachelor's degree; some states require a master's degree. There is an acute shortage of qualified teachers, owing to which job prospects are very high. Teachers can expect to be taken on, on a starting salary of $34,300 and go up to earning a little less than $50,000, as their experience and quality improves.
6) Recreation and Leisure Studies
If your studies are going to be leisurely, how can your salary be high? That's not true really and I am saying it in a light-hearted manner. This degree covers leisure activity, hobby activity, recreational activities and play-related experiences, including human behavior, social issues and public policy. Further advancement of studies in this field can make you a recreational therapist and you can have a substantial increase in your salary. Meanwhile you will have to make do with a beginner's salary of $34,500 and a mid-career median salary of $49,100.
7) Religious Studies or Theology
}People who earn this degree are people who have committed themselves to a life in service of God. Money is the least of their concerns. Their prime concern is to bring the Gospel to the people and to take care of the people in their respective parishes with competence and knowledge. They often feel that there are pursuing a higher calling and, because of their calling are respected by others as men of God. Of course their salary is paid by their churches and they can hope to start with $32,300 and go up to a little more than $50,000.
8) Athletic Training
Athletic trainers look after our sportsmen and get employment in schools and other sports related areas. They advise athletes and sportsmen how to prevent injuries, prevent, diagnose, treat and rehab injuries and sport-related illnesses. They provide immediate care for those injured on the sports field before they can be taken to the hospital. Their starting median salary would be around $34,600, whilst a mid-career median salary would earn them $50,200.
9) Public Health
There are lots of career paths open to public health workers. Irrespective of what career they choose, they can rest assured that their work is improving other people's lives. Even though public health workers are in short supply their salary is not on the higher side. Their starting median salary would be around $35,500, whilst a mid-career median salary: $51,700.
10) Art
By itself the word is one that conveys something nice, soothing and comforting. A degree in art prepares you for multiple careers in visual arts. Unfortunately the success rate is very poor. Very few really make it to the big scene and those who do get commercial success, find it so late that they cannot enjoy its fruits. There is truth in the adage that art is inherent and you cannot be taught art - only those with an inborn talent have really made it to the top. Starting median salary: $35,300; mid-career median salary: $52,400
