Choosing a college major has always felt like a big life decision, influenced by not only personal inclinations and talents, but also by starting salaries—new engineering and computer science grads earn more than those with English degrees. But in today’s labor market, where hiring has slowed, artificial intelligence is reshaping some industries faster than others, and many once-booming job categories have cooled off, young people should be asking themselves an additional question: How many career paths can I take with my degree?

According to new LinkedIn data provided exclusively to Forbes, the key to young professionals successfully navigating today’s uneven job market may depend on whether their degree is versatile enough to land a job in several different industries. With overall hiring down 20% from pre-pandemic levels and 5% from last year, LinkedIn analyzed the 20 most common majors on their platform among recent bachelor degree graduates and looked at two factors: hiring conditions in the industries most traditionally related to a major and versatility to pivot to other industries.

The intriguing findings: Grads who majored in the social sciences and humanities are proving to be resilient in today’s job market because they gained skills that can be used across multiple industries. Meanwhile engineering graduates, who likely thought they’d picked a safe and lucrative major, not only face a weak hiring market, but also have more specialized skills that aren’t as versatile or as useful in as many industries. Overall, in today’s slow job market, LinkedIn found that versatility may be one of the biggest competitive advantages for new graduates.

Hireability vs. Versatility

To come up with the hireability and versatility of the top college majors, LinkedIn looked at U.S. students who completed bachelor’s degrees........

© Forbes