Millions of high school and college students graduated this month and will pursue higher education or start their careers.

New data shows the powerful role that a student's major can play in determining their post-graduate income, even if they don't attend a prestigious university. Los Angeles Times education reporter Teresa Watanabe joined Spectrum News' Amrit Singh on "LA Times Today" with more.

Watanabe explained that people who go to college still make more money than those who do not pursue higher education. However, the notion that students must attend prestigious schools to make more money is being challenged by new research. 

“In many cases, the major matters almost more than the institution you attend,” she said. “So, for instance, I was able to look at the data and see that you could go to a community college and finish a two-year program in nursing or in electrical power installation, and you could end up making more than someone from an elite campus like a Stanford or UCLA and had majored in some other lower paying field.”

High-paying majors like computer science, engineering and nursing are so popular that some universities are creating new colleges to support the demand. The state of California is investing more in growing fields as well.

“[Gov.] Gavin Newsom has really intentionally tried to create closer ties between education and employers,” said Watanabe. “They’re really targeting health care fields, climate fields, education and technology as areas to fund. And in his agreements with the three public university systems — community colleges, California State University and University of California — they have agreed on goals to produce more graduates in those high-earning, high-demand fields.”

Online tools like College Scorecard allow students to compare post-graduate salaries for different majors at different schools. Watanabe explained that although there is high demand for STEM-focused majors, humanities remain an important field of study, even as artificial intelligence impacts the job market. 

“There is still such a need for all of our creative artists, all of our people who are studying sociology, psychology, a lot of the humanities, and they’re getting a bad rap,” she said. “In terms of artificial intelligence, there is data out there that shows automation could affect 40% of jobs... But proponents of the humanities say if you major in the humanities, you’re going to learn really important, valuable skills like creativity, critical thinking, teamwork, communication.”

Click the arrow above to watch the full interview.

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