College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is an Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 58 colleges (58 of 58 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$65,118

Graduates only, early career.$64,824 two years out.

Median federal debt

$23,500

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.36×

36% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering report early-career pay between $62,680 and $67,119 — a spread of $4,439 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $62,680 median $65,118 75th pct $67,119

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 58 colleges $65,118 $23,500 0.36×

Master's 18 colleges $86,822 $34,526 0.36×

Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

University of Southern California CA $78,078 $20,030 debt

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA $74,220 $22,500 debt

Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA $72,563 $17,724 debt

Worcester Polytechnic Institute MA $72,303 $27,000 debt

University of Colorado Boulder CO $71,135 $24,500 debt

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona CA $70,663 $25,750 debt

Saint Louis University MO $69,962 $26,421 debt

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA $68,716 $26,969 debt

University of Notre Dame IN $68,525 $19,000 debt

University of Virginia-Main Campus VA $68,493 $14,000 debt

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA $67,907 $22,000 debt

University of Cincinnati-Main Campus OH $67,848 $20,750 debt

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $67,815 $21,125 debt

Missouri University of Science and Technology MO $67,444 $22,000 debt

Case Western Reserve University OH $67,172 $26,061 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard