Civil Engineering at Milwaukee School of Engineering

Milwaukee School of Engineering's civil engineering graduates earn $72,940 in their first year—outpacing three-quarters of similar programs nationally and landing above the state median. That's a strong start in a field where initial earnings typically cluster tightly, and it puts MSOE roughly on par with UW-Madison despite being a smaller, specialized institution. The estimated debt of $27,000, derived from similar programs at MSOE, produces a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.37, meaning graduates would need roughly four and a half months of gross earnings to cover their loan balance.

The caveat is that we're working with estimated debt figures here because the graduate cohort was too small for the Department of Education to publish actual data. Based on comparable programs nationally, $27,000 is reasonable but slightly above the typical $24,500 for civil engineering bachelor's degrees. Still, with first-year earnings nearly $3,400 above the national median, graduates have meaningful income to manage that debt burden. Civil engineering tends to offer steady employment and clear career progression, which matters when you're comparing loan payments against salary growth.

For parents weighing cost against outcome, the earnings advantage is measurable and the estimated debt appears manageable, though you'll want to verify actual aid packages and typical borrowing at MSOE specifically. The school delivers competitive results in a practical field where graduates typically find work quickly.