--- title: Is a Polymer/Plastics Engineering degree worth the debt? cip: 1432 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 a Polymer/Plastics Engineering degree worth the debt? Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **4** colleges (4 of 4 programs report earnings): - **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $66,360 ($75,706 at 2 years) - **Median federal debt:** $27,000 (federal loans only) - **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.41× a first year's pay **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 | $66,360 | $27,000 | 0.41× | 4 | 4/4 | ## Where a 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 | | --- | --- | --- | | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College (PA) | $66,366 | $27,000 | | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $66,366 | $27,000 | | University of Massachusetts-Lowell (MA) | $66,354 | $27,000 | | Western Washington University (WA) | $55,793 | $19,743 | 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/`. Structured data: `/education/fields/polymer-plastics-engineering.jsonld` · `/education/fields/polymer-plastics-engineering.json`