Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology at University of California-San Diego

A bachelor's in atmospheric sciences from UC San Diego comes with an estimated first-year salary around $41,430—figures drawn from national peer programs since the school's graduate cohort is too small for the Department of Education to publish. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.59 suggests manageable repayment, particularly for a selective institution where graduates might expect strong employer recognition. Still, the starting salary is modest compared to other STEM fields at UC San Diego, and meteorology careers often require geographic flexibility that could complicate California's high cost of living.

What complicates this picture is the limited data landscape. With only 80 programs nationwide offering this major and just five in California, atmospheric sciences remains a niche field where outcomes vary significantly by career path—whether your child pursues operational forecasting, research positions, or private sector consulting. Similar programs nationally produce graduates earning near this $41,430 benchmark, but the actual trajectory from UC San Diego could differ given its research focus and proximity to Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The practical question: Does your child have a clear career vision in meteorology or climate science? If they're passionate about this specific field and understand the job market's geographic and sectoral realities, the estimated debt load is reasonable. If they're exploring broadly among STEM options, know that comparable programs at UC San Diego typically offer higher early earnings with similar debt burdens.