Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at Sonoma State University

Sonoma State's electrical engineering program produces first-year earnings of $78,247—right at California's median for this field—while graduates carry an estimated $18,165 in debt based on comparable programs at similar California schools. That's a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.23, meaning less than three months of gross income to cover what they borrowed. For a major that typically commands strong starting salaries, these numbers work in graduates' favor.

The catch: we're working with estimated debt figures here because the graduate sample is too small for the Department of Education to publish. What we do know is that Sonoma State sits squarely in the middle of California's engineering programs by earnings—beating the $77,710 national median but trailing UC Berkeley's $137,295 and Cal Poly SLO's $90,576 by meaningful margins. Still, solid mid-tier engineering earnings with below-average debt (the national median is $24,989) creates manageable financial pressure for graduates entering the workforce.

For parents weighing a 95% admission rate school against more selective programs, the value here is straightforward: your student gets an engineering degree without the debt burden that often accompanies this credential, though they won't command top-tier Bay Area engineering salaries immediately. The financial foundation is sound, but career trajectory will likely depend more on what happens after graduation than where the degree came from.