Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering at University of Central Florida

UCF's environmental engineering graduates earn about $8,000 less than the typical Florida grad in this field, landing near the state's 40th percentile. That gap matters: while students here carry comparable debt to state peers ($24,596 vs. $23,000 median), they're starting their careers at a material earnings disadvantage compared to nearby programs like Florida International ($64,541) and University of Florida ($62,480). The 0.44 debt-to-earnings ratio isn't alarming on its own, but it looks less favorable when you consider graduates could potentially earn 10-15% more from day one at other in-state options.

The small sample size here—fewer than 30 graduates—adds uncertainty to these numbers, so they could shift meaningfully with more data. That said, the pattern is worth noting: UCF places solidly below the national median ($64,675) for this specialized engineering field. For a program at a university with decent overall credentials and reasonable in-state tuition, these outcomes suggest students might want to understand what's driving the earnings difference—whether it's geographic placement, industry connections, or program structure—before committing. If environmental engineering is the goal, the other Florida programs appear to offer better early-career returns on a similar debt investment.