---
title: Is an Engineering, General degree worth the debt?
cip: 1401
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 Engineering, General degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **55** colleges (55 of 55 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $61,282 ($61,516 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,552 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.42× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $56,010–$63,808 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $39,851 | $8,250 | 0.21× | 4 | 4/4 |
| Bachelor's | $61,282 | $25,552 | 0.42× | 55 | 55/55 |
| Master's | $92,320 | $26,476 | 0.32× | 27 | 27/27 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Franklin W Olin College of Engineering (MA) | $91,352 | $14,512 |
| Harvey Mudd College (CA) | $81,948 | $22,240 |
| University of California-Davis (CA) | $74,487 | $14,939 |
| Brown University (RI) | $70,583 | $15,000 |
| Swarthmore College (PA) | $68,963 | — |
| Trinity College (CT) | $68,750 | — |
| Loyola University Maryland (MD) | $67,844 | $27,000 |
| Lafayette College (PA) | $67,714 | — |
| Wentworth Institute of Technology (MA) | $67,445 | $27,000 |
| University of Alabama in Huntsville (AL) | $67,098 | — |
| Michigan State University (MI) | $66,191 | $22,250 |
| George Fox University (OR) | $64,179 | $27,000 |
| James Madison University (VA) | $64,114 | $24,750 |
| McNeese State University (LA) | $64,056 | $25,554 |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ) | $63,561 | $25,500 |

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/engineering-general.jsonld` · `/education/fields/engineering-general.json`