What to study to earn money?
What to study to earn money: degrees with a future
When you choose what to study, it's reasonable to consider money. A degree involves years of dedication, expenses and, often, income you miss out on while you study. That's why, besides thinking about your interests, it's worth analyzing whether your education can help you get a job, improve your income and build a sustainable life.
However, choosing only the degree that ranks first on a salary list can be a mistake. To make a good decision you also have to consider whether you can realistically finish it, how long it will take to start working, the working conditions, the total cost of studying and the demand in your city or country.
Which degrees guarantee you a good income?
No degree can guarantee you a high income. Your qualification matters, but your financial outcome also depends on the country, experience, specialization, sector, type of employer, hours worked, available opportunities and the skills you develop.
Also, not everything depends on individual effort. Economic conditions, social inequalities, access to professional contacts, family responsibilities, discrimination and labor market characteristics can also affect income.
Even so, studying usually improves your financial opportunities. According to the Education at a Glance 2025 report, in the countries analyzed people with a short-cycle tertiary qualification earn, on average, more than those who completed only secondary education. The gap grows for those with a bachelor's degree, a university degree, a master's degree or a doctorate.
These figures are international averages and are not a promise for every student. Your real skill level also matters. OECD evidence shows that people with higher education and advanced skills can achieve better financial outcomes than those who hold a qualification but did not sufficiently develop the abilities needed to work in their field.
This shows that the diploma alone is not enough: what you learn and what you know how to do matters.
How is artificial intelligence changing what is worth studying?
Artificial intelligence is transforming tasks in technology, business administration, finance, communication, law, healthcare, design and many other areas. This does not mean that everyone has to become a programmer.
The OECD's AI and Skills report notes that a small share of workers will need advanced knowledge to develop artificial intelligence systems. For most people, it will be more important to know how to use digital tools, analyze information, interpret data, solve problems, communicate and make decisions.
Therefore, a reasonable strategy is to combine solid knowledge of a career with the ability to use artificial intelligence as a supporting tool. A health professional, an engineer, an accountant, a lawyer, a designer or a manager who understands their field and knows how to critically review the results of these tools can create more value than someone who only knows how to produce automatic answers.
Artificial intelligence can help with research, organizing information, automating repetitive tasks, analyzing data and preparing drafts. It does not replace professional judgment, ethical responsibility or decisions that belong to legally qualified people.
It can also make mistakes, reproduce biases or expose private information. For that reason, it must be used with human oversight, professional criteria and appropriate data protection measures.
What are the highest-paid degrees?
There is no universal ranking. A degree can have high earnings in one country and more modest results in another. There can also be large differences between the specialties of the same career.
International evidence makes it possible to identify some areas that tend to show a favorable combination of employment and income. According to the OCDE, qualifications related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics frequently appear among the fields with above-average earnings. However, the highest-paid area changes depending on the country, the economic sector and the state of the labor market.
Information and communication technologies
This area includes degrees such as computing, computer science, systems engineering, software development, data analysis, cybersecurity and other technological specialties.
According to employment data by field of study published by the OCDE, people with higher education in information technology have one of the highest employment rates among the fields analyzed.
The digitalization of businesses, industries and services increases the need for people capable of developing systems, protecting information, analyzing data and maintaining technological infrastructures.
This does not mean that any short programming course guarantees a job. Companies may require fundamentals of computing, problem-solving ability, practical experience, constant updating and, in many international positions, knowledge of English.
Engineering, industry and construction
Engineering degrees can lead to jobs in energy, production, infrastructure, automation, telecommunications, transportation, construction, logistics and technology.
Higher education graduates in engineering, industrial production and construction have high employment rates in the countries analyzed by the OCDE. However, the specific situation depends on the economic activities present in each region.
Not all engineering degrees have the same demand. Before choosing, it is advisable to research which sectors exist where you plan to work. A specialty linked to mining, oil, renewable energy, automotive industry, food or construction can offer very different results depending on the country and the economic moment.
Health and wellness
Health degrees can offer stability because they meet permanent needs of the population. Within this area are medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, rehabilitation, public health and healthcare management, among other programs.
However, all these careers should not be grouped as if they had the same income. There are important differences between medicine and dentistry, on the one hand, and nursing and other health careers, on the other.
Medical qualifications can lead to high incomes, but they also require lengthy studies, supervised internships, professional licensing and considerable responsibility.
Health institution management can offer opportunities for people with administrative training and knowledge of the healthcare system. However, studying healthcare administration does not guarantee immediate access to a management position. These roles usually require experience, management ability and knowledge of regulations, budgets and care processes.
Business, economics, finance and law
Organizations need people capable of managing resources, analyzing investments, controlling risks, interpreting regulations, selling products and leading teams. That is why degrees in economics, finance, accounting, administration and law can lead to well-paid positions.
However, they are broad fields with very uneven outcomes. Income depends on the position, responsibility, experience, sector, size of the organization and specialization.
A general bachelor's degree in administration or marketing does not guarantee reaching a management position. Higher-income positions usually require provable results, data handling, financial knowledge, commercial ability, languages or industry-specific knowledge.
In law there are also important differences among those who work in public agencies, small firms, large companies, consulting firms or highly specialized areas. In addition, it is a regulated career and the requirements to practice change by country.
Technical and professional training
To improve income it is not always necessary to choose the longest university degree. Technical training linked to specific market needs can allow faster entry into the workforce. Banco Mundial: tertiary education, skills and income.
The OCDE notes that technical and professional programs can produce good economic outcomes when they are aligned with employers' needs, offer practical experience and allow continued study or specialization. OCDE: employment by level and field of study.
Areas such as industrial maintenance, automation, electricity, networks, refrigeration, instrumentation, logistics or production processes can be valuable in certain regions.
Before enrolling, verify that the institution is recognized, that the degree is official where applicable and that the training is related to existing jobs in your area.
What shouldn't you study if you want to earn a lot of money?
There is no degree you necessarily need to avoid. The right approach is to recognize that some fields have lower average incomes, more freelance work, project-based jobs or greater competition for a limited number of positions.
According to the OCDE, the lowest relative incomes tend to appear in some fields of arts, humanities and education. The group that includes arts, humanities, social sciences, journalism and information also has lower employment rates than those seen in information technologies or engineering.
This difference does not mean that those degrees don't lead to work. Nor does it mean that all their graduates earn little. There are artists, teachers, communicators, researchers, writers and professionals in the social sciences with economically successful careers.
The problem with lists of degrees you shouldn't study is that they hide the internal variety. A person devoted exclusively to an artistic activity may have unstable income, while another may combine it with digital production, project management, teaching, design, technology or cultural management.
If you choose a field with lower average incomes, it's a good idea to develop complementary skills that expand your opportunities, such as languages, data analysis, project management, sales, digital communication, technological tools or administration.
Should you study what you love or what pays best?
The most logical answer is not to choose solely based on vocation or solely on salary. It's best to look for an intersection between:
- What you can learn and do at a competitive level.
- What you are willing to study for several years.
- What other people or organizations need.
- What they are actually willing to pay.
- The opportunities available where you want to live.
- The working conditions you can sustain in the long term.
Choosing a degree with high salaries is not much use if you can't finish it or if you hate the daily work. Similarly, being passionate about an activity does not guarantee that there is enough demand or that clients can pay for it. OCDE: economic advantages associated with education.
Personal interest matters because it can help you maintain the consistency needed to develop difficult skills. But motivation has to be combined with information about the market, practical experience and a professional strategy.
What to study then to earn money?
Instead of looking for a degree that promises wealth, evaluate each option with the following criteria:
- Research the local job market. Look for official data on employment, salaries, vacancies and economic sectors in your country or region.
- Compare real income. Don't look only at exceptional cases or the salaries of professionals with many years of experience.
- Calculate the total cost. Consider tuition, transport, housing, food, materials, books, equipment, paperwork and the income you might miss out on while you study.
- Analyze the length and the likelihood of finishing. A degree with good salaries can turn out to be a bad investment if it doesn't fit your personal situation.
- Check the requirements to practice. Some careers require licensing, internships, exams, degree homologation or additional training.
- Look for experience before you graduate. Internships, projects, entry-level jobs and applied work can make the transition to the job market easier.
- Develop transferable skills. Writing, math, data analysis, communication, sales, languages, management and responsible use of artificial intelligence can increase the value of different degrees.
- Talk to real professionals. Ask them what their workday is like, how long it took them to find employment, what difficulties they encountered and what knowledge they actually use.
Is it worth starting a business to increase your income?
Creating a business can generate higher income than a job, but it also involves risk, uncertainty and the possibility of losing money. Being an entrepreneur is no guarantee of wealth, nor does it replace the need to learn a career or develop a useful skill.
A more solid strategy is to learn to solve a specific problem and then gain knowledge of sales, finance, operations, negotiation and management. A business needs customers willing to pay, not just an idea that seems interesting.
Many educational programs can serve as a foundation for entrepreneurship. A person with technical knowledge can develop specialized products or services, while someone trained in health, education, design, law or communication can create solutions within their field, always respecting the applicable professional standards.
So, what should you study to earn money?
International evidence shows especially favorable results in information technology, certain engineering fields and some healthcare careers. The fields of business, finance and law can also lead to high incomes, although they vary greatly depending on the position and specialization.
Technical training programs can be a good investment when they meet specific market needs and allow you to gain relevant work experience.
But the best financial choice is not necessarily the degree with the highest average salary. It is the one that combines real demand, skills you can develop, chances of completion, reasonable costs and growth opportunities.
Don't look for a degree that guarantees money. Look for training that allows you to solve important problems, do work that is hard to replace, and keep learning throughout your professional life.
