Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many knowledge management graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	56
Master’s Degree	53
Associate Degree	26
Graduate Certificate	19
Undergraduate Certificate	6

What Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to knowledge management and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Knowledge Management Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in knowledge management should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Knowledge Management Majors

knowledge management majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Knowledge Management Majors

As a knowledge management major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with knowledge management:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Computer and Information Systems Managers	12.0%	$142,530

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 70% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of knowledge management majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	8
White	37
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Knowledge Management, too. About 3.6% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Knowledge Management majors often go into careers with median salaries of $152,860. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some degrees associated with knowledge management may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for knowledge management careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	5.8%
Some College Courses	26.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	47.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.8%
Master’s Degree	14.4%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	5	4
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	6	4
Bachelor’s Degree	8	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	9	5
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a knowledge management grad is $152,860 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 283% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $2,259,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to knowledge management.

Major	Number of Grads
General Management Information Systems	10,966
Information Resources Management	939
Other Management Information Systems and Services	364

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Dzonatas under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.