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

Is a Genetics degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 9 colleges (9 of 9 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$33,038

Graduates only, early career.$34,847 two years out.

Median federal debt

$21,500

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.72×

72% of a first year's earnings.

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

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Genetics report early-career pay between $30,438 and $33,912 — a spread of $3,474 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $30,438 median $33,038 75th pct $33,912

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

The 9 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.

Purdue University-Main Campus IN $39,698 $15,000 debt

University of New Hampshire-Main Campus NH $37,487 $26,994 debt

University of Wisconsin-Madison WI $33,912 $19,500 debt

Michigan State University MI $33,587 $25,000 debt

University of California-Davis CA $33,038 $13,848 debt

Rutgers University-New Brunswick NJ $30,538 $26,608 debt

Iowa State University IA $30,438 $21,631 debt

Clemson University SC $28,199 $21,500 debt

Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $21,648 $20,182 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Genetics, 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