Job Market Research›United States›Development & Area Studies
Check the job market before you choose the course.Real jobs and pay for your field, and how to stay on to work.
How it works
The jobs Development & Area Studies leads to, added together. Each label compares Development & Area Studies with the other US fields.
Job postings data: NLx Research Hub, a partnership of NASWA and DirectEmployers Association.
The jobs Development & Area Studies courses most often lead to in the US, and how each one is doing.
| Job | Share | Average pay BLS | Entry pay BLS | Growth to 2035 BLS | Jobs / month NLxvs last year | H-1B job filings last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other | US$101,110 | US$80,860 | -0.2% | 105+423.3% | 215 | |
| 2.Managers, All Other | US$141,900 | US$102,880 | +4.9% | 4,927-15.2% | 482 | |
| 3.Social Science Research Assistants | US$61,990 | US$48,620 | +5.2% | 614-21.7% | 357 | |
| 4.Sociologists | US$106,030 | US$82,300 | +3.7% | 0-100% | 74 | |
| 5.Political Scientists | US$142,080 | US$114,030 | -1.6% | 9-66.3% | 95 | |
| 6.Anthropologists and Archeologists | US$70,770 | US$59,400 | +5.9% | 417+64.3% | 29 | |
| 7.Economists | US$124,720 | US$89,330 | +4.8% | 276+78.8% | 903 |
Share: how common each job is among Development & Area Studies destinations. Entry pay: lower-quartile pay, a guide to starting salaries. Jobs / month: new job adverts over the last three months of NLx data. Swipe the table sideways for more.
Master's graduates who studied Development & Area Studies or a related Area Studies / Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies subject, four years after finishing, working in the US. Earnings are published for Area Studies / Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies as a whole.
Few international Area Studies / Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies graduates each year, so this figure combines three years. Based on 1,185 US master's graduates who received federal student aid, four years after finishing. International students are not included in this data.
How international students stay to work in the US after studying Development & Area Studies.
A master's or a PhD from a US university, on an F-1 student visa.
to work in the US in a job related to your field of study. If your degree is on the government's STEM list, you can extend it by 24 months (36 months in total).
To stay after OPT, an employer sponsors you for an H-1B visa. There are 65,000 a year, plus 20,000 for people with a US master's degree or higher, chosen by lottery. The lottery is weighted by salary: a job offer at the highest wage level gets 4 entries, the lowest gets 1.
Most filed: Economists (903).
Typical pay for the same jobs (in US dollars in brackets, at June 2026 exchange rates), projected growth, and post-study work after a master's.
68 US universities offer 183 postgraduate courses in Development & Area Studies. The highest ranked:
US graduates who finished a master's in Area Studies / Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies earned a median US$68,000 four years after finishing. Across all workers in these jobs, typical pay is US$108,500 and starting pay about US$83,600.
Employers posted about 1,182 job ads a month for these jobs between July and September 2026, 12.2% fewer than a year earlier. Employment in these jobs is projected to grow 2.9% from 2025 to 2035.
Yes, for 12 months on OPT, or 36 months if your degree is on the government's STEM list. To stay longer, an employer sponsors you for an H-1B visa: 65,000 a year, plus 20,000 for people with a US master's degree or higher, chosen by lottery. Employers filed 2,155 H-1B applications last year for the jobs Development & Area Studies leads to.
Every figure comes from an official US source. Tap a source tag next to any number for its details.
Indicative figures from official US sources. They describe groups of graduates and workers, not what any individual will earn or be offered. Visa rules change — check uscis.gov before you decide.