Want to have the best chance of becoming a millionaire after graduation? Then engineering is the subject for you.
More existing millionaires have degrees in engineering than anything else according to new data from GlobalData WealthInsight published in association with Verdict, though among graduate degrees MBAs take the top spot.
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For undergrads economics takes the second spot, though engineering is comes second for post-graduate millionaires.
Completing the top three is bachelor of business administration (BBA) or business studies for undergrads and economics for post-grad students.
Outside of the top ten, the list features mathematics (12th for undergrad millionaires), chemistry (13th for undergrad millionaires), physics (15th for undergraduate millionaires), and philosophy (20th for undergrad millionaires).
Head of WealthInsight Oliver Williams said:
Engineering may be the most popular degree for millionaires, but most millionaires aren’t engineers. This list shows that many millionaires leave their degrees behind on entry into the business world and some skillsets have proved more useful than others.
Numerical degrees are clearly more valuable to most millionaires who owe their fortunes to finance. Other degrees, like history or philosophy encourage new and smart thinking, which lend themselves to innovation and entrepreneurism.
The MBA has recently surged in popularity in China, where roughly 26 percent of all millionaires have one, more than any other country. This is a far larger portion than the US, where the course was invented, where 18 percent of all millionaires have one.
The findings are based on WealthInsight’s database which catalogues thousands of high net-worth individuals around the world. A millionaire is defined as someone who has $1m in assets excluding the value of their first home.
The top degrees that millionaires hold
Undergrad degree
1) Engineering
Masters / graduate degree
1) MBA
