Picking a college major that’s “in demand” by employers is a huge step in the right direction towards landing your first job and increased job opportunities. But are you sabotaging your chances of career success with your career training and online education choices? Interesting stats have emerged that show a disparity between which job skills, majors, and college degrees that employers are looking for, and which majors students are picking.

As Bill Genereux writes in his TechIntersect blog: “In many cases, college students are not choosing majors that align with the career paths that will provide them with the best opportunities!” According to the Job Outlook 2005 Survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers), the 10 most in-demand college degrees that employers are seeking are:

1. Accounting

2. Electrical engineering

3. Mechanical engineering

4. Business administration/management

5. Economics/finance

6. Computer science

7. Computer engineering

8. Marketing/marketing management

9. Chemical engineering

10. Information sciences and systems

But, according to the Princeton Review, the most popular college majors chosen by students are:

1. Business Administration

2. Psychology

3. Nursing

4. Biology/Biological Science

5. Education

6. English Language and Literature

7. Economics

8. Communications Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric

9. Political Science and Government

10. Computer and Information Sciences

As an example of this disparity, Genereux points out that while the U.S. graduates “only a fraction of the engineers that India and China do each year,” there’s no sign of a let-up in employer demand for engineering job skills. For example, U.S. employers often snap up every college graduate they can get from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, where students receive world-famous career training. Even Microsoft founder Bill Gates spoke last year about relocating some of the company’s operations to Vancouver, British Columbia, to tap into the pool of Chinese and Indian engineering students who flock to Canada upon graduation where less restrictive visa requirements exist.

Choosing your major carefully can maximize your online education benefits, potential career success, and future earning power.