How much does the degree you gret affect how much money you make in the future?

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Does the degree you choose affect how much money you will make in the future? According to the american council on education “On average, college graduates make 84 percent more over a lifetime“ However, a question that many people have is if their college major matters.  

According to the American council for education, not all degrees are created equal. They gave the example that “Counseling Psychology majors make an average of $29,000 per year, compared to $120,000 for Petroleum Engineering majors. That’s a difference of 314 percent—or $4.1 million over a 45-year lifetime of work.” This shows that employers will typically choose majors with a more rigorous course load. This is reiterated by the fact that if you have a masters in Counseling Psychology, you make an average of $79,000 a year a 272% increase.

A reason why employers do this is because the supply of people that have a degree in Petroleum engineering is very small, and the supply of people graduating with a counseling psychology degree is a lot. Also, there is a very high demand for Petroleum Engineers since their major is very specialized, causing employers to pay large amounts of money to attract graduates.