Generation Z graduates have six-figure salaries and tassels in their eyes. But some people won’t make $50,000 — even if they pursue a college degree that’s billed as “artificial intelligence proof.”
While some college majors, such as liberal arts and performing arts, offer some of the lowest salaries, other stable career paths offer equally dismal salaries.
Pharmacy graduate students ages 22 to 27 earn just $40,000, the lowest median income of any college major, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that analyzes 2024 U.S. Census data.
An “AI-certified” health care degree may not be worth the price; early-career pharmacy expenses pay thousands of dollars less than the U.S. average income of $45,140, according to the Census Bureau.
Other Gen Z college graduates are feeling the pressure, too, earning less than the average American; in the years after college, theology and religion majors earned $41,600, social services majors $43,000, performing arts majors just $44,000, and liberal arts majors just $45,000.
Many more careers touted as being resilient to AI layoffs and the impact of a recession also made the list. Teaching is growing in popularity for its job security, especially as artificial intelligence replaces office jobs and companies implement deep layoffs, but general education ($45,000) and elementary education ($45,000) are among the lowest-paying majors after graduation.
Gen Z spent four years pursuing biology degrees, a safe STEM path in the technological revolution, but they earned just $45,000 a year.
While salaries may be lower, healthcare has long been considered a fast-growing career path, immune to AI disruption and economic downturns, which have resulted in an influx of interest and job openings in the industry, while other industries have seen significant layoffs.
According to a 2024 McKinsey report, healthcare is actually one of the key industries expected to grow amid the disruption to the U.S. AI-driven business landscape.
According to a 2025 report from Indeed, hiring for home health, physician and nursing positions has increased a combined 162% since before the pandemic. Indeed Career Expert Priya Rathod says wealth Last year, “Healthcare is a quintessentially recession-proof industry because there’s always a demand for health care.”
Even Eli Lilly and Company CEO David Ricks said that despite optimism from other business leaders that advanced technology will eradicate all diseases, AI is far from a cure for cancer. There is currently no timetable for removing human workers from these important STEM occupations.
