Plant Sciences at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

UTK's Plant Sciences program generates solid first-year earnings of $40,355, but then graduates see their income decline to $34,281 by year four—a 15% drop that stands out as the program's biggest concern. While the starting salary exceeds Tennessee's median for this major and places graduates in the 60th percentile statewide, the downward trajectory suggests either career instability or graduates shifting into lower-paying roles after initial placements.

The debt burden of $22,564 is manageable relative to that first-year salary, creating a 0.56 debt-to-earnings ratio that shouldn't cause sleepless nights. However, this ratio looks less favorable when measured against the fourth-year earnings, where the debt becomes a larger proportion of income. Nationally, the program trails the median by about $2,400 in starting salary—not a dealbreaker, but worth noting for a flagship state university with a 1304 average SAT.

For students genuinely committed to plant sciences and planning to stay in Tennessee's agricultural sector, this program offers a reasonable entry point with relatively low debt. But the earnings decline demands attention: parents should discuss with their student whether they're prepared for potentially volatile early-career paths or whether pivoting to related fields like agricultural business or food science might offer more stable growth trajectories.