The most valuable degrees in Canada by salary earnings

While the current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in lockdowns and job losses in certain sectors, the youth unemployment rates have also witnessed record numbers. According to Statistics Canada, the situation could adversely affect postsecondary graduates for years to come.

Although it is too early to know which graduates will be the worst hit, students entering college or university and having to select a program might benefit from knowing how well graduates from specific academic disciplines fared in the labour market prior to the pandemic.

Which Master’s Degree Programs Were Associated with the Highest Pay Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Data has been released from three new studies by Statistics Canada, and it sheds light on this important issue. The studies provide a snapshot of the labour market success of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral graduates from detailed programs. 

In total, these gender-based studies include results for men in 118 bachelor’s degree programs and women in 123 programs; men in 77 master’s degree programs and women in 95 programs; and men in 29 doctoral degree programs and women in 22 programs.

The studies reveal many interesting findings. For example, they show that most top-earners among bachelor’s degree graduates came from various engineering specialties: 6 of the top 10 disciplines among men, and 7 of the top 10 disciplines among women were in engineering.

Median earnings of male bachelor’s degree graduates

Median earnings of female bachelor’s degree graduates

For both men and women, 8 of the bottom 10 disciplines associated with the lowest median earnings were in arts or humanities. The lowest-paying field among male graduates was drama/theatre arts and stagecraft ($35,935), while the lowest-paying field among female graduates was bilingual, multilingual and multicultural education ($19,892). Music graduates earned the third least for men ($38,462) and second least for women ($22,174).

For more details regarding the Bachelor’s Degree Programs, visit Statistics Canada.

Which Master’s Degree Programs Were Associated with the Highest Pay Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Business graduates are the highest earners among master’s degree holders

Five years after graduation, individuals with various business specialties out-earned all other master’s degree graduates, after accounting for differences in age, institution, and graduation year.

For men, the three top disciplines registering the highest median earnings included Finance and financial management services ($110,518), Business administration, management and operations ($108,382), and Accounting and related services ($102,718). Management sciences and quantitative methods graduates also landed in the top 10, with median earnings of $91,161 (9th place).

Median earnings of male master’s degree graduates

Median earnings of female master’s degree graduates

The data reveals that 7 of the bottom 10 fields among male master’s degree graduates are associated with arts or humanities [Fine arts and art studies, Music, English language and literature (general), Philosophy, logic, and ethics, Journalism, Theological and ministerial studies, and History]. Their median earnings five years after graduation ranged from about $40,000 to about $62,000.

For women, 8 of the bottom 10 fields included program associated with the arts or humanities (Theological and ministerial studies, Music, Fine arts and art studies, English language and literature (general), History, Film/video and photographic arts, Linguistic, comparative and related language studies and services, and French literature). Median earnings ranged from about $25,000 to about $53,000 for these graduates, five years after graduation.

For more details regarding the Bachelor’s Degree Programs, visit Statistics Canada.

Conclusion:

These reports highlight that many sectors naturally go through peaks and troughs, and this may affect the demand for graduates from different academic programs. Moreover, according to the report COVID-19 pandemic may lead to longer-term shifts in demand due to possible re-organization of work (e.g. teleworking or automation) or changes in demand in sectors like health care or clean energy.

Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Genomics and Precision Diagnostics are fields of study that are gaining significance in health sciences. These fields of study will have an impact on the growing demands of the industry seeking graduates in these fields of study and hence will have a salary impact.

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