Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at High Point University

For an engineering degree with estimated debt of $26,000, comparable electrical engineering programs in North Carolina typically produce first-year earnings around $75,000—putting graduates in a reasonable position to manage their loans. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.35 suggests monthly payments would consume a manageable portion of income, though it's worth noting that North Carolina's strongest engineering programs report actual outcomes ranging from $69,000 to over $81,000, with NC A&T and NC State graduates earning significantly more than the state median High Point's peers suggest.

The challenge is that this estimate is based on just four North Carolina programs, making it a narrow comparison for a school that doesn't yet have enough engineering graduates to report its own outcomes. High Point's relatively recent expansion into STEM means you're investing in a program without a track record, while established engineering schools like NC State and UNC Charlotte have decades of employer relationships and proven placement success. The national engineering median of $77,710 provides some reassurance that the field generally pays well, but program quality matters enormously in engineering hiring.

If your student is set on High Point for other reasons—campus culture, smaller classes, location—the estimated numbers don't suggest disaster. But purely on career preparation, you'd be choosing a developing program over established ones that demonstrably place graduates into $70,000-plus jobs.