– The authors found a pattern consistent with past research on majors and earnings; students who majored in STEM fields enjoy the highest earnings once in the labor market ($48,856), while humanities and education majors receive the lowest earnings ($31,236).
– Among students who majored in a STEM, social science, or professional field, African Americans trailed behind each of the other minority groups, while the reverse was true for biology, humanities, and education majors.
– Among education majors in particular, African Americans earned considerably more than their Asian/Pacific Islander and Latino counterparts.
– OLS results show significant differences in earnings by major field of study. Latinos enjoyed significantly higher earnings than their Asian/Pacific Islander and African American counterparts. Technical, scientific, and professionally-oriented majors yielded the greatest earnings. Specifically, students who concentrated their studies in the biological sciences, STEM, and professional fields reported annual earnings between 26 to nearly 40% greater than those who majored in humanities, education, and social science fields.
– The results of the PSM analysis confirm the presence of selection bias accompanying the OLS estimates. After controlling for students’ propensities to select different majors as well as controlling for major-job field congruence within fields, the coefficients of the PSM are either smaller or non-statistically significant.
– In summary, high achieving minority students who major in a STEM field in college and who obtain congruent employment in the years immediately following college experience significant earnings advantages in the labor market. STEM students without major-job congruence experienced an earnings premium of 25%, while STEM students working in congruent job fields enjoyed a 50% earnings premium.