Industrial Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology

NJIT's industrial engineering graduates start at $71,329—about $3,600 below both the national and New Jersey medians for this major. That gap matters: in a state with only two industrial engineering programs, NJIT trails Rutgers-New Brunswick by over $7,000 in first-year earnings. With relatively manageable debt at $25,000, graduates face a reasonable 0.35 debt-to-earnings ratio, but they're entering their careers at a competitive disadvantage compared to peers from other programs.

The trajectory improves over time, with earnings climbing 20% to $85,257 by year four. That's solid growth and eventually puts graduates ahead of where they started relative to national benchmarks. However, starting lower means playing catch-up in those crucial early career years when many young professionals are establishing themselves financially and making major life decisions about housing, transportation, and further education.

For families comparing options, this comes down to cost differentials. If NJIT offers significantly lower tuition than alternatives—particularly Rutgers—the debt advantage could offset the earnings gap. But if costs are similar, the numbers suggest graduates from New Jersey's other industrial engineering program launch their careers with a notable head start. The moderate sample size means these figures are reasonably reliable, though not as robust as data from larger programs.