---
title: Is an Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?
cip: 1501
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is an Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **8** colleges (8 of 8 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $46,961 ($52,107 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,875 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.48× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $42,578–$55,774 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $46,961 | $22,875 | 0.48× | 8 | 8/8 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $67,788 | $16,750 |
| Indiana University-Indianapolis (IN) | $62,431 | $19,500 |
| University of Southern Mississippi (MS) | $53,555 | $22,875 |
| New England Institute of Technology (RI) | $48,854 | $36,849 |
| University of Hartford (CT) | $45,068 | $27,000 |
| Seminole State College of Florida (FL) | $44,089 | — |
| SUNY College of Technology at Alfred (NY) | $38,046 | $26,211 |
| Farmingdale State College (NY) | $34,001 | $16,450 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/architectural-engineering-technologies-technicians.jsonld` · `/education/fields/architectural-engineering-technologies-technicians.json`