The College Degrees Least Likely To Pay Off Financially

College is a phenomenal opportunity to grow into the person you want to become. Both professionally and socially, the years you spend in collegiate academics help shape you into someone that's more knowledgeable, confident, and mature than the individual you were when you first stepped on campus. College students not only gain the responsibility to chart their own path forward, but they are gifted with a virtually infinite list of possibilities when creating that plan.

College majors are a great example of this unique flexibility. The University of Washington offers the most diversity in this realm, with 227 majors available for students to choose from. While popular majors include Business, Health, Social Sciences and History, and Engineering, others like Psychology, and Journalism are routinely ranked among the top in enrollment figures, too. Part of the experience revolves around growing as an individual, but another side of the coin certainly hinges on the ability to secure a great job after graduation. Conversely, there certainly are a wide range of jobs you can secure without having to go to college. Degree programs can vary wildly in terms of future financial returns, and everyone's experience with the classroom and job market will be unique. Even so, these majors have consistently proven to be some of the worst investments (especially when considering the addition of student loan repayments that many will factor in) when considering just the earning power they unlock.

In the same way that educators don't see the fruits of their labor borne out in dollars and cents, theologians and other religious practitioners can't expect to make a heap of cash, either. Theology degrees help bring practitioners closer to a career working in spirituality, and this is yet another career that acts as more of a calling to serve something other than the almighty dollar. Even so, it's worth noting that theology degrees are perhaps the worst financial investments someone can make if they're looking strictly at earning potential right out of school.

If you're working towards a degree in theology, you can expect a median salary of about $36,000, even five years after earning your credentials and taking part in a graduation ceremony. However, there is a wrinkle to this educational path and career that isn't commonly found elsewhere. Those looking to serve their church may find financial support as a standard part of the package. In lieu of a higher salary that might lend itself to finding an apartment and managing a variety of routine bills with a bit more leeway, clergy members across religious persuasions often take a squat salary with the addition of housing or housing support and other perks that would otherwise require more robust personal earnings.

Social workers exist in a thankless profession. Social work is a very difficult job and many consider it to be emotionally draining, physically exhausting, and financially unfulfilling. Social workers come in many flavors, but they generally work with individuals and families that exist in the most vulnerable states of being across their communities. Social workers visit clients, attempt to provide assistance and support, and sometimes have to make difficult calls to actively intervene in an individual's life or a family's routine.

Social workers are sometimes seen as the enemy by those they are trying desperately to help, and they often find themselves subjected to vitriolic language and desperate situations while on the job. But social work is an immensely fulfilling and service-oriented duty that many are called to perform. People working in social services can expect early career salaries landing around $37,000 per year. While there is a bit more upward mobility in this industry than in education and other fields with low-paying entry points, social workers shouldn't expect to see a major windfall as they progress through their careers, at least not financially.

Foreign languages are a fantastic addition to any course of study. Engaging with a foreign language helps open your mind to new experiences and cultural phenomena. Studying Spanish, French, or even something like Russian or Arabic will give you a new appreciation for the cultural realities of the people with whom you share the world. Not only will you be more readily able to communicate with a new cadre of people in your local community, but studying foreign languages unlocks additional points of mutual understanding. People who major in a foreign language, however, aren't likely to see a dramatic return on their financial investment and substantial time commitment.

Early career workers with degrees in foreign languages average a salary of around $43,000. While work in translation services and other career spaces that require a firm grasp of specific language skills can be highly interesting, the reality is that adding a new language to your resume and repertoire and then pursuing it as a primary degree program doesn't place you drastically higher up the pecking order when it comes time to get paid. If you're looking for work domestically, you're at a notable disadvantage when competing against native speakers of the language in question. An American who grew up speaking Spanish in the home and pursued an undergraduate degree in something other than the language will have both fluency in English and Spanish and a degree in something else that adds to their value as a potential employee.

Hospitality, culinary arts, and leisure management degrees can offer training to help you break into a marketplace flush with job opportunities. There are restaurants, hotels, and all kinds of hospitality industry businesses found in abundance across the United States and the world. Even with a great selection of prospective employers at your fingertips, formal education in these fields isn't typically a lucrative endeavor. Early career salaries average around $38,800 across the board with a rise to about $52,900, on average, as workers enter their mid-career years. In addition to somewhat pedestrian earnings potential, people working in the hospitality industry often find themselves constantly on the go. The name of the game is to serve the needs of clients, and this can see employees working overtime, running around throughout the day, and routinely problem-solving as new challenges creep into the fold. On a more positive note, some service industry workers leverage their expertise into jobs in wonderful destinations or roles that are intensely demanding but yield fabulous tips. These features can't be overlooked, but they aren't the typical experience in this field.

Jobs in these industries can be mentally toiling and physically demanding. For those interested in a career of service to others, hospitality can be a good path to follow, but those who can consider it should understand that earnings potential may be severely limited over the long term.

A liberal arts degree is a sort of generalized program of study that will result in a bachelor's achievement but won't prepare you to leverage specific and specialized skills or knowledge that may be required in the job market. Liberal arts degrees offer quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to scheduling coursework and mapping out the things that are important in your education. Students pursuing this type of generalized degree program may be able to lean heavily into things like identity studies, history, languages, or even hard-skill coursework such as programming or statistical analysis. However valuable the learning experiences are for you personally, the name of your degree won't turn any heads when you start to apply for jobs. As well, the lack of specialization often acts as a barrier in your early career development process. Liberal arts degree holders can typically expect to earn salaries starting at around $40,000 per year.

With more freedom over the specifics of your coursework, you may be able to tailor your education to certain learning objectives that you have for yourself, but these may not always translate into a high-quality salary both as you enter the job market and later on in your career progression.

Much like psychology, law studies and criminal justice degrees are expensive education that don't return much financially if you don't pair them with law school or other continuing education opportunities. Working in the legal field — on any side of the law — can net a sizable income for those who invest their time, energy, and money in this lengthy educational pursuit. Attorneys make particularly good money, but not until they've expended a huge effort in studying for the LSATs, succeeding in the rigors of law school, and then passing the Bar exam. After all this effort, new graduates still have to find a job at a law firm or in some other legal capacity to cash in on all their hard work.

For those who don't follow this path and opt to only chase after a bachelor's degree, work may be more limited and salaries will often seem stifling in comparison. Without the additional training of law school, you may find yourself working as a paralegal or in some other law-adjacent profession that pays far less than the lawyers you interact with. Average salaries fall around $45,000 in legal professions outside of the title of attorney.