Mechanical Engineering at The University of Tennessee-Martin

Tennessee's mechanical engineering programs cluster tightly around $67,000 in first-year earnings, and UT-Martin likely falls right in that range—middle of the pack statewide but slightly below the $70,744 national median. With estimated debt around $24,000, you're looking at a ratio of 0.36, meaning your child would owe roughly four-and-a-half months' salary. That's manageable territory for an engineering degree, though not as advantageous as the sub-$20,000 debt loads some Tennessee engineering programs report.

The challenge here is that we're working entirely with estimates—both earnings and debt figures come from peer programs across Tennessee, not from UT-Martin's actual graduates in this major. That means you don't know whether this campus's outcomes skew higher or lower than the state average. The 87% admission rate and 1090 average SAT suggest a less selective environment than schools like Vanderbilt (where mechanical engineers average $78,000), but Tennessee's mid-tier engineering programs seem to produce reasonably consistent outcomes regardless of institutional prestige.

If your child has direct admission to the mechanical engineering program and you're comfortable with the estimated debt load, the fundamentals look sound—engineering degrees typically justify their cost. But without actual graduate data, you're betting on UT-Martin performing at least as well as the Tennessee median. Before committing, try to get placement rates and employer connections specific to this campus.