COTTonLINE has occasionally written about the serious consequences of college major choice. We've done this out of a lifetime of personal experience, less empirical than anecdotal.
To see empirical data on this issue made visual, go to this U.S. Census site: http://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/056/. It shows clearly that some college majors accrue more than twice as much as others in lifetime earnings. Hat tip to the other DrC for the link.
As you might expect, the so-called STEM majors - science, technology, engineering, and mathematics - do very well. Business also is above-average. Liberal arts, English, psychology, communications, education, and arts are all choices leading to below-average lifetime earnings.
There is nothing wrong with choosing a major which, on average, earns less, as long as this is done knowing the likely outcome. On the other hand, later-in-life grumpiness at the resultant meager financial situation merits a Darwin Award for foot-shooting marksmanship.
