Two new reports provide ammunition to rebut the many complaints you hear these days that college isn't worth the cost.

AOL put together a list of the 10 highest-paying four-year degrees.  All numbers are for mid-career averages, according to the 2011-2012 PayScale College Salary Report.

• Petroleum Engineering -- average salary $155,000
• Chemical Engineering -- average salary $109,000
• Electrical Engineering -- average salary $109,000
• Materials Science and Engineering -- average salary $103,000
• Aerospace Engineering -- average salary $102,000
• Computer Engineering -- average salary $101,000
• Physics -- average salary $101,000
• Applied mathematics -- average salary $98,000
• Computer science -- average salary $98,000
• Nuclear engineering -- average salary $98,000

So all those guys (and gals, to a lesser degree) in high school who were math and science nerds that you thought were such losers are the ones making all the dough!

As you can see, the basic idea here is to go with the hard sciences. If they interest you, the hard sciences will afford you career options, career mobility and the greatest earning power.

Meanwhile, Monster.com has a separate tally that details the highest paying two-year degrees. They are as follows:

• Registered nurse
• Dental hygienist
• Respiratory therapist
• Computer programmer
• Telecom Installer
• Industrial Engineering Technician
• Police officer
• HVAC mechanic
• Paralegal

So there are professions, at all levels of education, where the earning power is higher and the job possibilities are greater. Remember this the next time you hear somebody saying college isn't worth it.