Mechanical Engineering at Southern University and A & M College

Southern University's mechanical engineering graduates start at $75,001—beating the national median by $4,300 and matching Louisiana State's outcomes despite serving a predominantly Pell-eligible student body. With debt of just $29,500 (actually below the national median and quite manageable), students face a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.39, meaning they'd theoretically need less than five months of gross salary to cover their entire undergraduate debt load. Among Louisiana's eight mechanical engineering programs, this ranks solidly in the 60th percentile, performing better than UNO and UL Lafayette while coming close to LSU's results.

The trajectory looks particularly strong: earnings climb 20% to nearly $90,000 by year four, suggesting graduates are landing legitimate engineering positions with room for advancement. For a school with a 938 average SAT and 65% Pell grant population, these outcomes punch well above weight—this is exactly the kind of mobility-generating program that makes engineering degrees valuable.

The significant caveat here is sample size. With fewer than 30 graduates in the data set, one or two outlier careers could skew these numbers considerably. However, the pattern—strong starting salaries, low debt, solid growth—aligns with what you'd expect from an ABET-accredited engineering program. For families concerned about both cost and outcomes, this represents a compelling value, especially for Louisiana residents paying in-state tuition.