• The New York Fed analyzed the mid-career wages of college graduates with a bachelor's degree.
• Graduates aged 35 to 45 in 19 areas of study had a median wage of at least $100,000 a year. 
• Ten of those 19 college majors were related to engineering.

When undergraduate college students choose their majors, there can be several factors that go into their decisions.

But if maximizing one's future earnings is high on their priority list, some areas of study have a better track record than others.

A New York Fed analysis of 2023 American Community Survey data found that college graduates who majored in one of 19 areas of study had a median mid-career wage of at least $100,000 a year. The New York Fed defined mid-career as people between the ages of 35 and 45. The analysis of 73 majors and groups of study only included people with a bachelor's degree — no additional graduate school education — and used what's noted as people's first major.

One general area of study accounted for 10 of the 19 spots: engineering.

Aerospace engineering majors had the top median mid-career wage of $125,000, per the analysis. Three other engineering fields followed behind — computer, chemical, and electrical.

Jaison Abel, the head of microeconomics at the New York Fed, told Business Insider that engineering is a great example of the type of college major that has the quantitative skills businesses tend to want.

"There is a bit of a premium on the demand side, and also these are relatively challenging majors to get through," Abel said. "When you've got quite a bit of demand for the skills and not as much supply of the types of people who are coming in, that's going to make wages overall go up and be high."

Computer science, economics, and finance were the three non-engineering majors with the highest mid-career median wages. Across all the majors analyzed, the median mid-career wage was $83,000 a year.

While the prospect of high mid-career earnings is likely attractive to many students, this appeal hinges on actually landing a job in their field of study — a feat that has become increasingly difficult for some college graduates.

A New York Fed analysis of unemployment data showed 5.8% of recent college graduates in the labor force between the ages of 22 and 27 were unemployed in March, up from 3.9% in October 2022. Absent the pandemic-related spike and its recovery over the next year, that's the highest rate since 2013.

Student loans and the cost of college may affect how a degree is valued

As college tuition rates have risen in recent decades, many Americans have taken on a considerable amount of student debt. In 2024 dollars, the average price for tuition and fees at private nonprofit, four-year schools has increased 30% from the 2004-05 academic year to $43,350 for the 2024-25 academic year. Public, four-year in-state schools are much cheaper, but their average cost has also climbed during that timeframe. Housing and food expenses make the cost of school even higher.

The average American consumer with student loans had a debt balance of about $35,000 as of the third quarter of last year, per Experian data. That's a decline from the average in the third quarter of 2023.

This changing landscape has caused some people to question whether college is a worthwhile investment. In response to these concerns, some high school graduates have gone straight to the workforce, while others have opted for alternative paths, like community college or trade schools.

Not all job openings require someone to have a particular level of education. However, sometimes a college degree is preferred for a job seeker. Automaker Stellantis said in a previous statement that "most non-bargaining unit positions (salaried) require an associate's or bachelor's degree," but also noted that "for some positions, a degree might be a preferred qualification which would open those up to people who can demonstrate proficiency in other ways."

College graduates who majored in early childhood education had the lowest median mid-career wage, at $49,000 a year. Other types of education majors had relatively low mid-career median wages, such as secondary education.

• Recent polls show Elon Musk's favorability declined with Republicans after feuding with Donald Trump.
• Musk's overall favorability already had sustained significant hits during his time in the White House.
• The billionaire's struggles come during a critical time for Tesla.

Elon Musk's image isn't what it used to be.

The Tesla CEO's feud with President Donald Trump risked worsening his already underwater popularity, and new polling shows that even the apparent peace between the once-friends hasn't repaired Musk's standing with Republicans.

A new Morning Consult poll found that Musk's net favorability is at -14 percentage points. The good news for the billionaire is that his overall standing as of June 20 is up four points since June 15, the week after the peak of his feud with Trump.

It's still lower than where he stood when he left the White House in late May. Among Republicans, Musk is down roughly 12 points; he'd dropped 10 points immediately after he criticized Trump in early June.

"In the US, Musk managed to alienate both those on the left (due to his support for DOGE, the Trump administration, and the election) and those on the right (as seen in his statements on X following his fallout with the President over the "big beautiful bill")," Frank T. Rothaermel, a regents' professor at the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech, told Business Insider in an email.

"The good thing in the US is that people's memories are short and a ton of stuff is happening every day," he added.

Voters began to become increasingly polarized toward Musk after his takeover of Twitter, Morning Consult US Politics Analyst Eli Yokley told Business Insider. Musk's closeness to Trump "poured fuel on the fire," which left his image in a much different state than some of his fellow tech moguls, who also sought to curry favor with the White House.

"It weighs on him in a very unique way that other CEOs who have tried to kiss the ring a bit just haven't experienced to the same extent," Yokley told Business Insider.

Musk's favorability isn't polled as frequently as someone like Trump. YouGov, which has sporadic data on Musk going back to 2018, found that immediately after the feud, Musk recorded his lowest net favorability in its records.

The handful of post-feud polls that have been released show similar warning signs. Namely, many Republicans, who were once the bulwark for Musk's sagging numbers, no longer have such rosy views of the billionaire.

An Economist-YouGov poll taken in the week after the feud found that Musk's net favorability among Republicans dropped 20 points. A Reuters-Ipsos poll found that he dropped 13 points in net favorability in a roughly one-month span.

This is a critical moment for Tesla

On June 22, Tesla began a limited rollout of its robotaxi service in Austin. The stock jumped as much as 11% the following day, though it had pared its gains by the end of the week. Overall, it's been a wild year for Tesla's share price.

Musk is the face of Tesla, a close association that comes with some risk. Some analysts downgraded the company during his feud with Trump.

"The recent incident between Musk and President Trump exemplifies key-person risk associated with Musk's political activities," Baird senior research analyst Ben Kallo wrote in a note earlier this month.

Musk has signaled a retreat from politics, though whether he sticks by that commitment remains to be seen.

Tesla is facing other challenges. In China, the newly announced Xiaomi YU7 is priced to compete with Tesla's popular Model Y, and Tesla's sales have fallen in key markets like Europe in recent months.

The automaker is set to announce its second-quarter delivery numbers on Wednesday, and many analysts are expecting a year-over-year decrease.

John Helveston, an assistant professor at George Washington University, told BI that Musk's "political unpopularity is very unhelpful" as the CEO looks to navigate Tesla through the challenges it's currently facing.

"Elon Musk is strongest [indeed, world-class, second to none] when he focuses on his core competencies: solving 'impossible' engineering problems," Rothaermel said. "If I were on the board of directors at Tesla, that is what I would want him to focus on."

The Morning Consult poll is based on data collected during the firm's tracking poll from June 20 to 22nd, based on a representative sample of 2,205 registered U.S. voters. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points. Smaller subsamples have a larger margin of error. Full results are available here.