African-American College Students Who Majored in Scientific Fields Earn Less Than Other Minorities Once They Enter the Job Market

A study conducted by researchers at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago has found that African-American college students who major in academic fields that generally produce high-paying jobs earn less after they leave college than other minority students who majored in the same fields. The results showed that Asians and Hispanics who majored in science, technology, mathematics, or engineering while in college earned 50 percent more after college than black students who had majored in these fields.

The researchers stated that there was some evidence that occupational choices of blacks were a factor in the wage differences. But the authors of the study did not rule out discrimination as a contributing factor.