3 college majors most — and least — likely to ask for a raise
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Getting regular raises, even tiny ones, could ultimately mean you earn an additional $1 million over the course of your career (no, that’s not a typo). But only 43% of American workers have ever asked for a raise, with some types of people being far less likely than others to do it, according to a survey of 31,000 people released Wednesday by PayScale.com — a fact that will likely cost them thousands of dollars over their lifetimes.
While men and women are about equally likely to ask for a raise (44% vs. 42%, respectively), those who make less money are generally far less likely than their better-paid peers to have asked for a raise in their current field (and also less likely to get what they requested). Just 31% of those making between $10,000 and $20,000 a year have asked for a raise (and, of those that did, just 25% got the full amount) and only 37% of those making $20,000 to $30,000 asked (32% got the full amount). Meanwhile, more than half of people making $150,000 and up have asked for a raise, and, of those, 70% got what they asked for.
Industry and job type also play roles in how likely it is that you’ll get a raise. But perhaps more surprisingly, your college major (regardless of what job you’re now in) also seems to influence how likely it is that you’ll ask the boss for more dough. Here are the three types of college grads most — and least — likely to ask for a raise, according to PayScale.com.
Most likely to ask for a raise: English majors
Some of you may think of English majors as timid bookworms, but when it comes to money and careers, they’ve got guts. College grads who major in English language and literature/letters are the most likely of all college grads to ask for a raise (51% say they’ve done it in their current field). Katie Bardaro, the lead economist for PayScale.com, says this may have to do with the kinds of jobs these majors land. “People think English major and they think they must be a teacher,” she says. The reality is that many of these people end up in business and professional jobs — and people who work in these fields are more likely to ask for raises overall, she says.
What’s more, English majors often get the pay increases they ask for: 49% of those who asked for a raise got the amount they asked for (compared with 44% across all majors) and another 35% (vs. 31% on average) got something, though less than what they asked for.
Second most likely: Engineering technology
Those with engineering technology degrees — electrical and mechanical engineering and computer science, among them — are already very well-paid (engineering technology majors dominate lists of the top 10 majors by salary potential), but these folks aren’t afraid to ask for more. Half of those who graduated with engineering technology and related degrees have asked for a raise in their current field — and 49% of them got the amount they asked for. Bardaro says these professionals often know that their skills are in high demand, and thus aren’t afraid to ask for more money.
Third most likely: Visual and performing arts; business, management and marketing (tie)
Fully 46% of both visual- and performing-arts majors, as well as those majoring in business, management, marketing and related support fields, have asked for a raise — putting these groups in a tie for third on the list of majors demanding heftier paychecks. The business majors were slightly more likely to get the pay hike they asked for (47% say they did, compared with 45% of visual- and performing-arts majors), but those who pursued both sets of majors are more likely than average to have their salary demands met by their companies.
