It was with a sad grumble that we learned of journalism ranking as the top "useless college major" in a Daily Beast study. The Beast also compiled a list of the most useful majors for college graduates.

At the top of that list is biomedical engineering, with its median starting salary of $54,800, median mid-career salary of $101,000 and a projected increase in number of jobs of more than 11,600 between 2008 and 2018.

Considering its strong medical center, Houston should do a fine job attracting these "useful" students. Other similar, highly-rated majors include biochemistry and nursing. The same applies to Houston's ever-booming oil and gas industry – petroleum engineering ranks No. 5 for usefulness, with a median starting salary of $93,000 and mid-career salary of $157,000.

Other practical majors include corporate-focused accounting, business, finance and management information systems, as well as civil, environmental and industrial engineering. To compile the ranking, the publication considered starting mid-career salary levels using the profession most associated with the degree, expected change in the total number of jobs from 2008-2018 and expected percentage change in available jobs from 2008-2018.

On the opposite end of the usefulness spectrum are such majors as horticulture (just a little more useful than journalism), agriculture and animal science. Creative fields are especially not lucrative, so avoid advertising, fashion design, music, theater, art history, photography, art and fine arts.

Love reading? Then you better not enjoy making money — literature and English earned spots as useless majors as well.`