20 Lowest Paying College Majors for 2013

While salary shouldn’t be your only consideration when choosing a college major, it’s certainly something that you should take into account when deciding how much you can afford to invest in a college education.

If you know you’re planning on entering one of these lower-paying fields, it may not make financial sense to take out hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. Just because a field has low starting salaries doesn’t mean there’s no room for growth. For example, Anthropology majors make an average of just $36,200 at the beginning of their careers, but jump to $61,400 by mid-career.

And public service loan forgiveness is an option for those who spend 10 years in a public service position while paying their student loans, but you can’t always assume you’ll qualify.

We still believe that if you do what you love, the money will come. But it’s a smart financial move to do all of your homework when choosing a college and deciding what to major in. Check out the full list of college majors by salary on PayScale.

Ranking / Major / Starting Salary / Mid-Career Salary

20. Exercise Science / $31,300 / $54,400

19. Dietetics / $44,100 / $54,300

18. Art History / $36,400 / $54,000

17. Physical Education / $33,400 / $53,900

16. Fine Arts / $31,800 / $53,700

15. Animal Science / $33,300 / $53,200

14. Paralegal or Law / $36,500 / $52,100

13. Public Health (PH) / $35,000 / $51,300

12. Music / $34,600 / $51,100

10. (tie) Biblical Studies / $32,500 / $51,000

10. (tie) Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) / $37,500 /$51,000

9. Theology / $32,400 / $50,700

8. Sports Medicine / $35,700 / $50,300

7. Athletic Training / $34,400 / $49,800

6. Culinary Arts / $31,000 / $49,700

5. Special Education / $33,900 / $48,900

4. Human Development / $33,100 / $47,800

3. Elementary Education / $31,400 / $46,000

2. Social Work (SW) / $33,100 / $45,300

1. Child and Family Studies / $29,300 / $37,700