A newer version of this project is available. See below for other available versions.

Earnings, Occupation and College Degree: A Focus on the Economics Major

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Matthew Holian, San Jose State University; Kevin Chiu, Santa Clara University

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
README.pdf application/pdf 39.3 KB 12/15/2025 01:45:AM
manuscript_20251211.pdf application/pdf 336 KB 12/10/2025 08:26:AM
output_tables_20251210.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 153 KB 12/15/2025 12:20:AM
script_jobs_majors_20251210.R text/x-rsrc 90.6 KB 12/10/2025 08:34:AM
script_jobs_majors_20251210_all_majors.R text/x-rsrc 75.9 KB 12/15/2025 12:24:AM
script_jobs_majors_20251210_early_career.R text/x-rsrc 76.6 KB 12/10/2025 08:43:AM
script_jobs_majors_20251210_mathematics_major.R text/x-rsrc 75.9 KB 12/20/2024 08:43:AM

Project Citation: 

Holian, Matthew , and Chiu, Kevin. Earnings, Occupation and College Degree: A Focus on the Economics Major. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-12-15. https://doi.org/10.3886/E241262V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary This study explores the occupations of college graduates by major, with a focus on the economics major, using American Community Survey microdata. We identify the most common occupations for mid-career workers whose highest degree is a bachelor’s degree, and report median income for each occupation. We also identify common industries, and present a ranking of all majors by earnings and self-employment rates. The code file can be modified so the analysis can be done for any major; the replication package includes an example for mathematics. Other extensions, such as relaxing the limitation to use only those whose highest degree is a bachelor's, can also be done by modeling the R script. 



Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V2 [2025-12-15]

V1 [2025-12-15]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as received from the data depositor. As of April 2026, depositors are required to submit study materials in accessible formats. ICPSR has not reviewed, checked, or processed this material. For additional information about the study, please contact the investigator(s) directly. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR's Accessibility Center.