Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at Temple University

Temple's electrical engineering program lands squarely in the middle of the pack—both nationally (35th percentile) and within Pennsylvania (40th percentile). Starting earnings of $75,148 trail the state median by about $5,000, which is meaningful when you consider that Pennsylvania engineering programs can vary wildly, from Carnegie Mellon's $139,000 to Temple's mid-$70s range. The 19% earnings growth to $89,421 by year four is solid, but it doesn't close the gap with stronger state programs that start higher.

The debt picture, however, works in this program's favor. At $27,000—matching the state median and sitting at just the 25th percentile nationally—graduates aren't overpaying for their outcomes. The 0.36 debt-to-earnings ratio means manageable monthly payments, which matters for a program serving a student body where 30% receive Pell grants. You're getting adequate preparation for engineering careers without the debt burden that could come from chasing marginally higher starting salaries elsewhere.

For Pennsylvania families, this becomes a straightforward calculation: if your child can access Temple's in-state tuition and wants to work in the Philadelphia region, the combination of reasonable debt and mid-tier earnings makes sense. But if they're comparing acceptance letters and could attend Drexel, Lehigh, or Villanova without significantly more debt, those programs deliver $4,000-$15,000 more in starting salary for similar or only slightly higher borrowing.