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Family Background and College Major Choice: Evidence on Major Earnings Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Margaret Leighton

    (Department of Economics University of St Andrews St Andrews KY16 9AJ, UK)

  • Jamin D. Speer

    (Department of Economics University of Memphis Memphis, TN 38152)

Abstract

Expected earnings matter for college major choices, and majors differ in both their average earnings and the age profile of their earnings. We show that students’ family background is strongly related to the earnings paths of the major they choose. Students with more educated parents, especially those who have graduate degrees, choose majors with lower early-career earnings but much stronger earnings growth. They are also less likely to choose safe majors with little early-career earnings or unemployment downside. These effects seem driven by students with more educated parents’ propensity to eventually attend graduate school and increase later earnings, but not by the propensity to attend graduate school immediately after college, meaning that these students are earning less in the years after college. Parental income has a weaker relationship with major choice and may operate partially through the type of institution the student attends.

Suggested Citation

  • Margaret Leighton & Jamin D. Speer, 2026. "Family Background and College Major Choice: Evidence on Major Earnings Growth," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 21(1), pages 121-145, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:edfpol:v:21:y:2026:i:1:p:121-145
    DOI: 10.1162/edfp_a_00448
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