08/17/2026
"According to new LinkedIn data provided exclusively to Forbes, the key to young professionals successfully navigating today’s uneven job market may depend on whether their degree is versatile enough to land a job in several different industries. With overall hiring down 20% from pre-pandemic levels and 5% from last year, LinkedIn analyzed the 20 most common majors on their platform among recent bachelor degree graduates and looked at two factors: hiring conditions in the industries most traditionally related to a major and versatility to pivot to other industries. The intriguing findings: Grads who majored in the social sciences and humanities are proving to be resilient in today’s job market because they gained skills that can be used across multiple industries. Meanwhile engineering graduates, who likely thought they’d picked a safe and lucrative major, not only face a weak hiring market, but also have more specialized skills that aren’t as versatile or as useful in as many industries. Overall, in today’s slow job market, LinkedIn found that versatility may be one of the biggest competitive advantages for new graduates."
LinkedIn data reveals which college majors offer the strongest hiring prospects and the flexibility to find jobs across multiple industries.
