I know I’m worth it, but is my degree? College is numbingly expensive — I’m not even a senior and I’m already 50k in the hole. All this just so I can (probably) land a meager entry - level job when I graduate with my liberal arts degree. Yeah, you need to give a little to get a little, but I’ve lost count over how many times I’ve woken up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, worrying about my loans.

Well, good news! Apparently, the value of a liberal arts degree is up. The average grad’s salary rounds to about $33,000 a year. That’s almost enough to live in New York City…

The situation is better for those with more mechanical minds (and degrees). Chemical engineering majors earn about $60,000 out of school, and computer science majors aren’t far behind.

And, of course, there’s my brother the petroleum engineer who, at 23, is earning more in a year than I will probably earn in my life. There may be blood in oil, but there is also money. Lots of money.

I rue the day I end up living in his basement. Read More »