Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

The big question here is why graduates from a specialized STEM school are earning less than their peers at New Mexico State while carrying similar debt loads. New Mexico Tech's electrical engineering grads start at $73,300—nearly $10,000 below the state median of $78,045 and well behind NM State's $82,790. This isn't a question of crushing debt (at $15,981, it's actually quite low), but rather of earning potential that lags both state and national norms.

The 24th percentile national ranking is particularly striking for a school with "Technology" in its name. You'd expect a specialized technical institute in Socorro to leverage industry connections or a distinctive curriculum into stronger outcomes, but the data suggests graduates here face a steeper climb than at comprehensive state universities. The low debt is genuinely good news—with a 0.22 debt-to-earnings ratio, loans shouldn't be burdensome—but it doesn't offset the earnings gap.

The major caveat: this is based on fewer than 30 graduates, so one unusually strong or weak cohort could skew everything. If your child is set on New Mexico Tech for other reasons (smaller classes, research opportunities, campus culture), the low debt means the financial risk is manageable. But purely as an ROI decision, New Mexico State appears to deliver stronger earning power in the same field for similar upfront costs.