When it comes to landing a high-paying job, graduating from college is no longer the only key to success. You need to enter college with a plan. That's the best way to ensure that you get the most from your degree later on.

Here are five things you꧒ can d♈o to help you snag a job after you graduate.

1. Pick Your Major and College Strategically

It used to be okay to head to college now and figure out your degree path later. Now, it's best to know where you want to go. One way to save on education: Plan the most efficient path to graduation by taking the courses you need for your major and fulfilling requirements with the fewest possible additional steps. Graduate in four years or less if you can manage it.

Then, there's finding the best college major for your talents and goals. With the median outstanding student loan in 2023 between $20,000 and $24,999, choosing the right kind of degree can make a huge difference in your life after graduation. Your ability to live comfortably, get an auto loan, rent an apartment—and, eventually, marry, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:buy a home, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:have a family—can be affected.

How do you find which of your paths have high future demand and pay well? Here's the short answer: If you have a knack for science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and pursue a career in one of those areas, you will likely do just fine.

You could look for which jobs are in the highest demand. A great place to look for those is the list of the fastest-growing occupations produced by the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Topping that list are wind turbine service technicians, solar photovoltaic installers, nurse practitioners, data scientists, and information security analysts.

Then, think about which college majors are likely to lead to the best-paying jobs. Below are the college majors associated with the highest median early career salaries, according to the New York Federal Reserve.

1. Computer Engineering: $80,000
2. Chemical Engineering: $79,000
3. Computer Science: $78,000
4. Aerospace Engineering: $74,000
5. Electrical Engineering: $72,000
6. Industrial Engineering: $71,000
7. Mechanical Engineering: $70,000
8. Miscellaneous Engineering: $68,000
9. General Engineering: $68,000
10. Finance: $66,000

Does this mean you have to give up your dream of being an actor, early childhood educator, or historian? Definitely not. Your major could be one that leads to a higher-paying, high-availability job; a dual major, minor, or hobby could be your other love. It will likely require more schooling, but having marketable skills in more than one discipline is a great use of your time and money. You can try to do both—for example, you can audition for parts in plays and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:work at a paid job.

2. Don’t Follow Your Passion

Still having trouble figuring out what you want to do with your life? Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and star of the series “Shark Tank,” advises people to not follow their passion. According to Cuban, we have a lot of passions in our life, but most won’t translate into successful caree🧜rs.

Instead, Cuban says follow your effort. Look at how you spend your time. Whatever you spend the most time doing may be your perfect career. Spending time with something leads to developing a lot of skill, which creates expertise in that field and being an expert translates to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:career success.

What if your passion is one of those low-paying, low-availability jobs, such as fine arts—a college major that has a median starting salary of $40,000?

Maybe you’re well-spoken, make friends easily and pꦡeople like to be around you. You could be a sales representative for a company that works wi♎th arts programs. Look for ways to pivot into a job related to your favorite field, but with the potential to make more money. This should provide more room for advancement and let you pay off your college debt faster.

3. Pick a Career That Requires Specialized Skills😼

Some career paths are overpopulated with candidates, while others have employers begging for qualified candidates. Why? Often because the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:specialized skills required for one field🍌 makes the talent pool smaller.

Major in something that makes you into a specialist, and finding a job will be easier. Even better, you’ll get paid well from the beginning. Look for jobs where a bachelor's degree in a highly specialized field is all you need to get started, such as computer and information systems.

Fields such as med🤪icine and law can🌼 pay extremely well, of course, but they require that you go through years and years of schooling.

Other careers, such as many jobs in business, require a college degree, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:but not a specialized one. The more people eligible to a൩pply for a job, the more people you will need𓃲 to compete against to get it.

4. Network Early and Often

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Networking is about forming relations💎hips and taking a genuine interest in people around you. How often havꦯe you heard people talking about landing a job because of a college buddy?

Yes, you should atte💧nd events related to your field of study, but if you’re not exactly the social type, look for people on LinkedIn and people at other colleges and universities.

5. Take an Internship

The fastest track to a job of your dreams is through an internship. Any company executive knows that hiring a person is expensive. They would much rather hire a sure thing than somebody they don’t know. That’s why companies love 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:internships. It’s the perfectꦰ way to find their next top-notch employees with barely any risk.

Starting with the summer after your first year, use your college's career-planning office to apply for internships, or contact companies that interest you directly. Some colleges even offer fellowships to enable students to accept poorly paid 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:(or unpaid) internships by offering grants. Or consider combining a part-time poorly paid internship in the field you want with non-career work that pays better. Fortunately, some high-paid fields also pay their interns well, especially those who are close to graduating.

The Bottom Line

Making the most of your college education is essential to having the best chance of finding the job (and life) you've dreamed of having. And the sooner you get out of college, the sooner you will earn money instead of building up more debt.