What Did The Top 1 Percent Study in University?

With the furore over what many perceive as indecent pay packages, one can be forgiven for assuming that bankers and the traders are the only ones in the top “one percent”. The truth is many other jobs pay just as well, without the media scrutiny and public “we are the 99 percent” antagonism and outrage. What are these jobs, and what did they major in back in University?

With the furore over what many perceive as indecent pay packages, one can be forgiven for assuming that bankers and the traders are the only ones in the top “one percent”. The truth is many other jobs pay just as well, without the media scrutiny and public “we are the 99 percent” antagonism and outrage. What are these jobs, and what did they major in back in University?

Related News: Almost Half of the World’s 1 Percent Are Americans

In a recent New York Times article, the authors noted that you do not have to be the next Bill Gates to be part of the elite “1 percent” of the world. In reality, the wealth and occupations of the top echelons are much more varied, a group that includes podiatrists and actuaries, executives and entrepreneurs.

The Times wrote:

[quote] The range of wealth in the 1 percent is vast — from households that bring in $380,000 a year, according to census data, up to billionaires like Warren E. Buffett and Bill Gates.

The top 1 percent of earners in a given year receives just under a fifth of the country’s pretax income, about double their share 30 years ago. They pay just over a fourth of all federal taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center. In 2007, they accounted for about 30 percent of philanthropic giving, according to Federal Reserve data. They received 22 percent of their income from capital gains, compared with 2 percent for everybody else.

[/quote]

But what did they study back in University, say, 30 to 40 years ago?

According to the New York Times’ research, respondents who listed their occupation as “manager” were part of the single largest group in the 1 percent. Of which, 12.3 percent were managers of security, commodity brokerage and investment companies.

Similarly, lawyers who worked on Wall Street are twice as likely as those in general practice to make the top 1 percent.

Interestingly, school teachers and educators do not earn enough on their own to make the top 1 percent up, but many live in 1-percent households, primarily through socioeconomic factors like marriages and inheritance.

As for what the 1-percenters studied in University, the 2010 American Community Survey reveals that more pre-med, economics, biochemistry, zoology and biology students were likely to be in the top ranks.

For example, 8.2 percent of economics degree holders are part of the 1-percent, making up 5.4 percent of all 1-percenters.

Likewise, 4.8 percent of finance majors are part of the 1-percent, making up 2.7 percent of all 1-percenters.

Related Infographic: Is Higher Education the Next Big Bubble?

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