Computer science freshman David Esteban would not say he has the greatest passion for his major, even though he said he likes playing video games in his free time.
“If money didn’t matter, I would probably be an art or a film major, because that’s what I really like,” Esteban said.
Prospective earnings after graduation carried significant weight when Esteban, who is on a military scholarship, chose his field.
Trading passion for future financial stability when choosing a major may pay off, according to a 2026 study by the HEA Group, a higher education research and policy organization. The study reveals major income disparity across majors four years after graduation.
With an average salary of $155,168, UT computer science graduates who receive federal aid are among the highest paid. Computer science out-earns East Asian languages literatures and linguistics, the lowest paid major listed, by about $116,713. Radio-television-film majors make, on average, $52,860.
Science programs out-earn the arts overall, with graduates from the College of Pharmacy making on average $91,472 more than College of Fine Arts graduates. The College of Natural Sciences, which includes computer science majors, ranks fifth at $85,429.
Even though UT computer science graduates earn less than their peers at prominent private institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, they make more than their Texas A&M counterparts.
This data was collected by the Department of Education following reforms to federal aid programs. Under a new accountability earnings test released July 1, only undergraduate programs whose graduates earn more than the typical high school graduate will remain eligible for federal student loans.
The education department surveyed only graduates who had received federal aid between 2017 and 2019, according to the New York Times. Economics professor Stephen Trejo said the New York Federal Reserve Bank offers more representative information because they publish yearly data on earnings by college majors.
Trejo noted further limitations, saying that average earnings data four years post-graduation may not reflect variations in the types of jobs students pursue after graduation, nor delayed income growth depending on major. He also said that some jobs offer non-monetary benefits.
“If I become a public school teacher, I’ll have a big chunk of the summer off potentially, but I won’t get paid as much per year,” Trejo said.
Danielle Kirklin, a second year transfer majoring in music composition, said she dreams of a future lifestyle where she can write music all day without distractions. Kirklin said she would not have pursued a more scientific major, even if it would have meant a more financially stable future.
“I don’t think I want to do that to myself,” Kirklin said. “I think right now, I would rather just spend time in music.”
Trejo said wage differences have been widening over the past 40 years alongside the information technology revolution.
Today, the demand for skilled workers driven by new technology is outpacing the supply of educated workers, leading companies to pay tech-savvy workers more because they are scarcer, Trejo said.
“In general, the more technical majors have done better, computer science, mathematical-type majors,” Trejo said. “Even going back 150 years, most technological changes in the labor market have benefited more skilled versus less-skilled workers.”
