---
title: Is a Systems Engineering degree worth the debt?
cip: 1427
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 Systems Engineering degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **13** colleges (13 of 13 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $67,120 ($71,163 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $20,125 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.29× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $58,880–$73,035 — 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 | $67,120 | $20,125 | 0.29× | 13 | 13/13 |
| Master's | $100,114 | $33,422 | 0.34× | 23 | 23/23 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MA) | $83,288 | $27,000 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus (VA) | $79,487 | $19,500 |
| University of Florida (FL) | $75,217 | $19,750 |
| Washington University in St Louis (MO) | $73,035 | $23,139 |
| George Mason University (VA) | $71,876 | $20,500 |
| George Washington University (DC) | $68,609 | — |
| Maine Maritime Academy (ME) | $67,120 | — |
| University of Arizona (AZ) | $65,275 | $18,500 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IL) | $61,753 | $17,800 |
| Kennesaw State University (GA) | $58,880 | $21,571 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte (NC) | $57,042 | $26,000 |
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock (AR) | $51,749 | — |
| Texas A & M International University (TX) | $31,586 | $8,800 |

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