school. She noted, however, “that as a doctor, you save the world one patient at a time. As a biomedical engineer, if you make a discovery, you can affect the life span or quality of life of millions of people.” In addition to the University of Delaware, schools offering biomedical engineering degrees in the Mid-Atlantic include Johns Hopkins University, topped ranked in the field by U.S. News and World Report; George Mason University; University of Virginia; Virginia Commonwealth University; Virginia Tech; The Catholic University of America; The George Washington University;The University of Pennsylvania; Drexel University; and Temple University.The University of Maryland, College Park offers a related degree in bioengineering. Another STEM-H major that pays well, especially for women, is pharmacy, said Heidi Roller, vice president for enrollment management at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore. Pharmacists must complete a four-year professional degree and are subject to state licensing exams.The average entry-level salary is $64,000, according to simplyhired.com, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay at $111,570. Forbes ranks
Special Supplement | Fall 2012
pharmacy as the second-highest paying profession for women, behind physician/surgeon. The magazine noted that women comprise 48 percent of the pharmacy profession and earn 83 percent as much as male pharmacists. That compares favorably to chief executive officers, Forbes’ third-ranked profession for women. Only 26 percent of CEOs are women and they earn just 72 percent of what their male peers command, according to Forbes. For those not inclined to a career in STEM-H, management degrees can offer a significant return on investment. “Management is popping up all over the place,” said Roller. “Risk, knowledge, marketing and health care management are emerging fields and, as such, have well-paying jobs that require only a bachelor’s degree. Of course, a master’s will make you even more competitive.” Health care is a popular management subset within the Mid-Atlantic. U.S. News and World Report includes nine schools from the region in its list of best health care management programs.The University of Pennsylvania is No. 4,Virginia Commonwealth is No. 5, Johns Hopkins is No. 11, GeorgeWashington is No. 21,Temple is No. 24, Georgetown is No. 29, GMU is No. 36 and Marymount
University is No. 63.Towson University also offers a degree in health care management and the University of Maryland, Baltimore offers a related degree in health systems management on its main campus and through The Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville. There is often a significant difference between the starting salaries commanded by STEM-H and business majors and the entry-level pay of liberal arts majors, but that gap diminishes somewhat over time, Stearns noted. In fact, the top three schools in the Southeast ranked for salary potential by PayScale are liberal arts schools: the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, starting salary of $72,200 and mid-career salary of $122,000; Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., starting salary of $52,100 and mid-career salary of $108,000; and Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, starting salary of $48,300 and mid-career salary of $104,000. While wanting to maximize one’s return on college tuition is understandable, Stearns hopes “it does not exclude consideration of what a student is good at, what he enjoys, and from what he will derive the greatest satisfaction, not just the biggest paycheck.”
ISTOCKPHOTO/JAMESBREY
Although there is often a significant difference between the starting salaries commanded by STEM-H and business majors and the entry-level pay of liberal arts majors,
that gap diminishes somewhat over time.
Higher Education
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