Gen Z graduates who majored in fields promoted as “AI-proof,” such as education, biology and pharmacy, are earning less than $50,000 annually in early-career roles, according to new data.
The finding comes from a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report analyzing 2024 U.S. Census data on median earnings for full-time workers aged 22 to 27 with bachelor’s degrees only, as reported by Yahoo Finance.
Post-graduation pharmacy majors in that age group had the lowest median income of all college concentrations at $40,000, the report showed. Biology majors earned a median of about $45,000, while education majors also fell below the $50,000 threshold.
The data were highlighted in a Fortune article published on March 6, which noted that these majors had been viewed by some as stable alternatives to AI-vulnerable fields.
The New York Fed’s analysis is available on its College Labor Market dashboard.
The report covers bachelor’s-degree holders only. It does not reflect earnings for pharmacy professionals who complete a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, who qualify to practice as licensed pharmacists and earn a median annual salary of $137,480, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in the Fortune report.
No additional context on broader labor market trends or reactions from educators or industry groups was included in the initial coverage of the New York Fed data.
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