I think the data is very clear...the economic value of a college degree is very dependent on what the degree is in.

I would add on to that the importance of accumulating job experience along the way, via co-op's and internships. Happily these also tend to be well paid if you are in a STEM degree, but more importantly it shows the prospective employer that the 22 year old grad can function in an adult work environment. That ability is in question by employers these days, a fall out from the smart phone generation's dumbing down of not being able to interact with people, unable to take their eyes off of their social media.

We did not limit the choice of degree, but insisted on maxing out internships and frankly exploring as many subject matters as possible within a 4.5 year time frame. (I went in to college a French major, influenced by my parent's profession and strong liberal arts upbringing, but came out a Chemist after discovering that I loved math and science!) Highly encouraged study abroad as well, which was basically half price for Eldest at GA Tech, where we paid out of state tuition while in class in Atlanta, but in state tuition when abroad. Culturally, priceless.

Unfortunately, while helpful in terms of interview anecdotes and references, Youngest's internship experience was truncated by Covid shut downs, just as he was getting into the higher level experiences, but Eldest came out of his 4 internships with enough experience in Tech Support to know he hated it, and a strong background in Cybersecurity to know he loved it, not to mention 3 job offers which he declined for his dream job. The $50K he managed to tuck into his brokerage account by graduation didn't hurt! My 15 month full time (6 credit) internship experience allowed me to graduate with not only cash in the bank, but a job offer in hand, which gave me the confidence at graduation in a job interview I took at my Chem Prof's request to get an offer 30% higher than the first one.

IP