Industrial Engineering at University of Central Florida

UCF's Industrial Engineering program lands graduates in stable positions with manageable debt, but the earnings come in below what top engineering students might expect. At $70,194 in first-year earnings, graduates trail the national median by about $4,500 and sit right at Florida's middle of the pack—40th percentile among state programs. The $26,273 in median debt translates to a reasonable 0.37 debt-to-earnings ratio, meaning graduates face just over four months of gross pay in student loans.

The 12% earnings bump to $78,467 by year four shows solid career progression, though this still lags behind what Florida State's program delivers ($76,426 in first-year earnings). For a family choosing between Florida's industrial engineering programs, UCF offers middle-tier outcomes at middle-tier debt levels. The gap isn't dramatic—we're talking about $5-6k differences in starting salary—but it's persistent across the data.

For parents, this program represents a safe bet rather than an exceptional value. Your child will graduate with employable skills and debt they can reasonably handle, backed by a robust sample size that makes these numbers reliable. If they've been admitted to Florida State as well, the higher earnings there might justify any additional cost. If UCF is the most affordable option or they value Orlando's proximity to aerospace and defense contractors, this program delivers exactly what the numbers suggest: solid industrial engineering training that gets graduates working without crushing them financially.