Civil Engineering at Florida Institute of Technology

Florida Tech's civil engineering program produces graduates earning about $5,000 less in their first year than the national median for civil engineering majors, landing in the 18th percentile nationally. Within Florida, the story is somewhat better—sitting right at the state median debt level and performing near the middle of the pack among 13 Florida programs. But it's still trailing the state's flagship programs like UF ($73K), USF ($70K), and UCF ($69K) by $5,000-$8,000 annually. For a moderately selective private engineering school charging private tuition, these graduates aren't out-earning their peers at public universities.

The $23,000 debt load is manageable relative to first-year earnings (36% ratio), which keeps the financial picture from being dire. Earnings do grow to nearly $70,000 by year four, narrowing the gap with competitors. However, the small sample size—fewer than 30 graduates in this data—means these figures could shift considerably with more data points.

For parents, the calculus is straightforward: you're likely paying significantly more in tuition than you would at UF or UCF, but your child won't earn more coming out. Unless Florida Tech offers compelling non-financial advantages like smaller class sizes or research opportunities that justify the premium, the public universities represent better value in terms of pure return on investment for civil engineering.