These 4 Weird College Majors Lead to Surprisingly Good Salaries

As a college student, you probably thought about majoring in business or communications or engineering, or something else broad. You might even have really shocked your parents by majoring in art or philosophy.

But Mom and Dad might have been really surprised to find out you were majoring in puppetry or bowling industry management.

Yet those majors do exist, along with other “weird” and specialized courses of study. These weird college majors, which are only offered at a few schools, can lead to weird jobs that are highly specialized — and pay decent salaries, according to CheatSheet.

Would you pick any of these weird majors?

Puppetry

Offered at only a couple schools, this major (and master’s-level program) is extremely competitive, requiring not just an application but a portfolio and an audition.

Once you graduate, you can expect to earn around $40,000 a year. If you’re great, you could earn significantly more; Caroll Spinney, the man who has played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Street” since 1969, earns more than $300,000 a year.

Bowling Industry Management

Apparently, running a bowling alley is more complicated than other forms of entertainment — you don’t see many universities offering movie theater management.

Bowling alley managers earn between $39,000 and $56,000, according to CheatSheet. Bonus: You can finish this degree in two years.

Racetrack Management

The University of Arizona is home to the country’s only degree-offering program for racetrack management, and in fact, the program has two tracks: one for the business side of racetracks and the other that focuses on caring for horses.

Should you choose the latter, you’ll take classes like Equine Nutrition and Management and Introduction to Horsemanship Programs. This degree qualifies you to work at the more than 100 racetracks in the U.S., as well as at related businesses like state racing boards. Graduates earn an average of $41,000 yearly for entry-level jobs, and that number increases to $70,000 or more for those with at least 20 years’ experience.

Bonus: Mortuary Science

This major didn’t make the list and might not qualify as “weird” since many schools offer it, but people in the programs do say that others often regard them as weird.

Funeral directors often work long hours and have to deal with things that many find depressing or even repulsive, but job security is about as good as you can get. The median earning for funeral service workers was more than $53,000 per year in 2015.

Want to see more weird college majors? Check out the full list on CheatSheet.

Your Turn: Did you have a weird college major? Let us know in the comments below!

Rachel Kaufman may or may not be two-dozen hamsters masquerading as one human in a trenchcoat.