A recent analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveals that several college majors in the US with strong employment prospects are not those traditionally expected by students. While finance remains viewed as a well-paying degree with solid career potential, majors such as art history, nutrition sciences and philosophy demonstrate better employment rates and lower unemployment than many business and STEM fields.The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s data, published by CNBC, shows that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates rose to 5.8%, the highest since 2021. Despite this, certain majors have maintained exceptional job security. Nutrition sciences, for example, report an unemployment rate of just 0.4%, far lower than finance, which stands at 3.7%. Likewise, art history and philosophy boast unemployment rates of 3.0% and 3.2%, respectively.Job prospects vary widely across US college majorsThe data highlights the diversity of employment outcomes across undergraduate majors in the US. Majors traditionally considered high earning or prestigious do not always offer the best immediate job prospects. Below is a table presenting the majors with the lowest unemployment rates alongside their median early-career salaries and percentage of graduates holding advanced degrees.
Early-career is defined as ages 22 to 27.Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, data for calendar year 2023, published February 2025 by CNBC.These majors report unemployment rates below 2%, suggesting strong demand for graduates in fields like nutrition sciences and special education. Many of these fields also show significant percentages of graduates with advanced degrees, such as special education at 64.5% and earth sciences at 48.6%.High unemployment among some traditional STEM and business majorsConversely, several majors traditionally linked with high earning potential display elevated unemployment rates. According to the New York Fed’s data, anthropology faces the highest unemployment rate at 9.4%, followed by physics at 7.8% and computer engineering at 7.5%. Commercial art and graphic design report a 7.2% unemployment rate, with fine arts close behind at 7.0%.
Early-career is defined as ages 22 to 27.Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, data for calendar year 2023, published February 2025 by CNBC.Despite some of these majors commanding higher early-career salaries, their unemployment rates remain relatively high. Computer science, for instance, reported a 6.1% unemployment rate, compared to just 3% for art history majors.Students’ perceptions differ from employment realitiesA survey by the CFA Institute, reported by CNBC, found that US students largely believe finance is the best major for career prospects, with confidence rising in this area over the past year. However, confidence in STEM and healthcare careers has declined. This contrasts with actual employment data where majors in nutrition, art history and philosophy outperform many business and STEM degrees in terms of employment rates.Peter Watkins, senior director of university programmes at the CFA Institute, said as quoted by CNBC, “There’s an awareness from students that they have to make sure the degrees will make them work-ready.” Yet, parental and societal expectations still seem to guide many students towards traditional business and STEM majors.Rising demand for humanities and creative skillsDemand for humanities majors is reportedly increasing in the US labour market, driven in part by the rise of artificial intelligence and the corresponding need for creativity and soft skills. Robert Goldstein, chief operating officer of BlackRock, stated at a conference as reported by CNBC, “We have more and more conviction that we need people who majored in history, in English, and things that have nothing to do with finance or technology.”As the US labour market tightens, recent graduates face a challenging environment. The data suggests that students’ choice of major can have significant impacts on their early career success, with unexpected fields offering some of the best opportunities.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.
