Median mid-career pay: $88,200
Median starting salary: $51,000
"Data matter," says Nathan Lippe, product director of the job-hunting website CareerRookie.com. "If (a company) doesn't have a good team of people looking at their data to understand what things might be able to change that business, they might lose their competitive edge."
Management information systems majors to the rescue. Trained to analyze organizations' computer databases, oversee projects and improve company productivity and efficiency, MIS grads enjoy a practically booming job market with the field growing 17 percent each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
When seeking top MIS jobs, Lippe advises students to use campus resources. "A lot of times (campus) career centers and even professors are going to have relationships with companies that hire a higher volume of those types of students," he says.