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

Is an Engineering, Other degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 18 colleges (18 of 18 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$61,890

Graduates only, early career.$64,493 two years out.

Median federal debt

$22,174

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.35×

35% 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 Engineering, Other report early-career pay between $57,902 and $67,450 — a spread of $9,548 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $57,902 median $61,890 75th pct $67,450

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 18 colleges $61,890 $22,174 0.35×

Master's 10 colleges $97,752 $40,197 0.45×

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.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy MA $72,995 $26,000 debt

Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $71,065 $21,750 debt

Stevens Institute of Technology NJ $69,150 —

California State University-Chico CA $68,803 $22,500 debt

University of Maryland-College Park MD $68,270 $18,458 debt

Louisiana Tech University LA $64,992 —

Oregon State University OR $63,172 $28,067 debt

Oregon State University-Cascades Campus OR $63,172 $28,067 debt

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA $61,978 $25,500 debt

Purdue University-Main Campus IN $61,803 $19,787 debt

Mississippi State University MS $61,549 $18,947 debt

Colorado State University Pueblo CO $59,886 $28,000 debt

Oregon Institute of Technology OR $58,210 —

Michigan State University MI $57,800 $21,848 debt

Indiana University-Indianapolis IN $56,423 $25,492 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Engineering, Other, 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