The University is home to several very promising majors, and a few not so promising.

But just which ones are which, and what does “promising” really mean?

“It is impossible to tell you which majors are ‘promising’ because every major, paired with meaningful experiences and skill development, can result in success,” said Annette Badik, BGSU Career Center representative.

Badik’s statement may be what most people would like to hear, but it may leave too much to the imagination.

The five majors that lead to the highest job outlooks, according to CNN, are careers in accounting, education, engineering, business administration and computer science.

“Aside from the whole loving to teach children thing, the likelihood of getting a job that pays well is the reason I’m majoring in it,” said Nathan Whitman, a freshman majoring in early childhood education.

Another freshman with the same major, Sheena Dicob, said, “It really makes my future less of a worry knowing the job outlook is good.”

Whitman and Dicob, along with all of the other education majors that make up BGSU’s most popular major, will be happy to know that education also topped CNN’s list of the 10 Hottest Jobs in America, which cited education as the field that they believe will experience the most net gain over the next five years.

Computer science majors also have reason to celebrate, because along with one of the five best job outlooks, the average annual starting salary is $50,820, and it came in at number three on CNN’s 10 Hottest Jobs list.

“I knew that coming in, and that, along with the fact that I genuinely enjoy it, is why I chose to major in it,” said Dave Jones, a freshman majoring in computer science.

There are, however, careers that aren’t as promising.

Some of the lowest job outlooks for majors offered at BGSU are philosophy and psychology. CNN reported that philosophy majors cannot directly do much with the philosophy degree, but can find opportunities in fields in which a philosophy degree can help.

Psychology majors have a decent job outlook. CNN reported that in 2007, four out of every 10 people with a degree in psychology are self-employed, with those who are self-employed making a higher average annual salary than those who are not.

Aviation majors looking to become pilots may be interested in the fact that a career as a pilot is one of the most dangerous one can pursue, as reported by CNN.

Some of the majors offered at the University that lead to careers with the lowest starting salary are those in criminal justice, where police earn $25,000, liberal arts, where a person averages $28,000 and health care, where a personal/homecare aide will earn, on average, $18,180.

However, job outlooks and starting salaries alone may not fully determine which jobs are really the most promising.

“Any major, in and of itself, cannot be judged as to whether it is promising,” Badik said. “All majors are important and can lead to promising careers and productive lives.”