Which Bachillerato modalidad has the best job prospects?

None has prospects on its own, because any of them gives access to any degree. Looking at the degrees each one usually leads to, the Ciencias y Tecnología ones, such as Medicine, engineering, Nursing or Mathematics, show the highest employment rates four years on. But within each modalidad there are degrees with very different figures.

Should I take Ciencias even if I do not like science, just in case?

It rarely pays off. Your Bachillerato mark is 60% of your university entry mark, and it comes more easily from studying what interests you. If science does not draw you, a science degree will not either, and every modalidad leads to degrees with good employment.

Does Humanidades have job prospects?

Yes, although the figures are lower: in the degrees in the table, between 6 and 7 in 10 graduates are in work four years on. Many go on to a master's, such as the teaching one needed for secondary school, and that lengthens the road to a first job. From Humanidades you can also reach degrees such as Journalism or Law.

And the Artes Bachillerato?

It leads mostly to Design, Audiovisual Communication and Fine Arts, and to higher arts schools such as conservatoires, which are not in these figures. Employment figures are lower than in other areas, and it is a route where a portfolio and practice count a lot. If it is what moves you, that is a good reason to choose it.

What if I do vocational training (FP) instead of a degree?

Any modalidad lets you into a higher vocational cycle (FP de grado superior), and many cycles show very good employment rates in the official figures. You will find them in our careers with a future article.

Can I change modalidad if I get it wrong?

Often yes, under conditions set by each region, such as catching up on subjects from the new modalidad. Ask at your school before the end of the first year: the earlier you raise it, the easier it is.

Which Bachillerato has the best job prospects? Modalidades and jobs, with data

In this article

The short answer
The degrees of each modalidad and their employment four years on
Four things the numbers say
How to choose a modalidad with job prospects in mind
Common questions

The short answer

The question has a small catch. Any Bachillerato modalidad gives access to any university degree, so the modalidad on its own does not decide your job prospects. The degree you study next does.

What the modalidad does change is where it leads most easily: which subjects you take to the PAU and which ones weigh for each degree. So it makes sense to look at the degrees each one usually leads to, and at what happened to the people who studied them.

That is the table below, with official employment figures for graduates in Spain. Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales is one modalidad with two tracks; they appear separately here because they lead to different degrees.

The degrees of each modalidad and their employment four years on

For each modalidad, some of the degrees it most often leads to and what happened to the people who finished them: the share in work four years later and their average yearly contribution base (the salary contributions are paid on, a good proxy for pay). These are official figures and each one covers at least three universities. Which degrees stand for each modalidad is our choice; the figures are as published.

Modalidad	Degree	In work 4 years later	Average yearly contribution base
Ciencias y Tecnología	Medicina	95%	€44,136
	Ingeniería Informática	88%	€36,794
	Ingeniería Mecánica	86%	€34,120
	Enfermería	85%	€36,634
	Matemáticas	84%	€35,556
	Biología	71%	€26,361
Ciencias Sociales	Educación Social	84%	€25,970
	Administración y Dirección de Empresas	80%	€30,050
	Economía	78%	€30,049
	Periodismo	76%	€24,836
	Psicología	74%	€27,174
	Derecho	62%	€29,630
Humanidades	Estudios Ingleses	68%	€29,433
	Traducción e Interpretación	65%	€27,477
	Historia del Arte	63%	€27,422
	Filosofía	63%	€32,249
	Filología Hispánica	62%	€32,060
	Historia	61%	€27,424
Artes	Diseño	69%	€28,147
	Comunicación Audiovisual	69%	€24,471
	Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales	61%	€24,046
	Bellas Artes	57%	€23,462
General	Trabajo Social	80%	€26,282
	Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte	79%	€27,561
	Turismo	70%	€25,466

Four things the numbers say

The table answers the question, but it reads better with these four ideas beside it.

The degree matters more than the modalidad
Within Ciencias Sociales there are more than 20 points between Social Education and Law. The gap between two degrees of the same modalidad is often wider than the gap between two modalidades.
A lower figure is not always bad news
Law sits near the bottom, and part of the reason is probably the route: practising as a lawyer in Spain takes a master's after the degree, and many people prepare for civil service exams. Four years on, some of them are still training.
Being in work is not everything
The table says how many are working, not whether they work in what they studied or whether they like it. It helps you compare; it does not grade a degree.
The arts have more routes than fit here
Conservatoires, drama schools and other higher arts schools are not university degrees and are not in this register. That is why the Music and Performing Arts track has no row of its own.

How to choose a modalidad with job prospects in mind

Start with what you would like to study, even if it is a vague idea: two or three possible degrees are enough. Choose the modalidad that keeps those doors open and that you will study with energy, because your Bachillerato mark counts a lot and comes more easily from what interests you.

Then look at the prospects of those degrees, not of the modalidad. If one draws you and its figures are lower, that is no reason to drop it: it is a reason to look at what adds up, such as internships, languages or a master's.

If you do not yet know what you like, UTalento helps with that step. In a few minutes it sees how you like to work and what draws you, and turns it into degrees that fit you, with real data on each. You do not have to work out the whole path today. Just the next step.

Common questions

Which Bachillerato modalidad has the best job prospects?
None has prospects on its own, because any of them gives access to any degree. Looking at the degrees each one usually leads to, the Ciencias y Tecnología ones, such as Medicine, engineering, Nursing or Mathematics, show the highest employment rates four years on. But within each modalidad there are degrees with very different figures.
Should I take Ciencias even if I do not like science, just in case?
It rarely pays off. Your Bachillerato mark is 60% of your university entry mark, and it comes more easily from studying what interests you. If science does not draw you, a science degree will not either, and every modalidad leads to degrees with good employment.
Does Humanidades have job prospects?
Yes, although the figures are lower: in the degrees in the table, between 6 and 7 in 10 graduates are in work four years on. Many go on to a master's, such as the teaching one needed for secondary school, and that lengthens the road to a first job. From Humanidades you can also reach degrees such as Journalism or Law.
And the Artes Bachillerato?
It leads mostly to Design, Audiovisual Communication and Fine Arts, and to higher arts schools such as conservatoires, which are not in these figures. Employment figures are lower than in other areas, and it is a route where a portfolio and practice count a lot. If it is what moves you, that is a good reason to choose it.
What if I do vocational training (FP) instead of a degree?
Any modalidad lets you into a higher vocational cycle (FP de grado superior), and many cycles show very good employment rates in the official figures. You will find them in our careers with a future article.
Can I change modalidad if I get it wrong?
Often yes, under conditions set by each region, such as catching up on subjects from the new modalidad. Ask at your school before the end of the first year: the earlier you raise it, the easier it is.

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Which Bachillerato has the best job prospects? What the employment data says