Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

With first-year earnings around $68,000 and debt near $26,000, this engineering degree shows the fundamentals that make technical education appealing—though you're working with estimated figures since Illinois doesn't report specific outcomes for this program. Peer engineering programs nationally suggest graduates start with earnings that comfortably exceed their debt burden, creating a manageable 0.38 debt-to-earnings ratio. By year four, the data shows actual reported earnings of $84,000, confirming the upward trajectory typical of engineering careers.

What matters here is recognizing that University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's engineering reputation likely delivers better outcomes than these national averages suggest. The school's 1418 average SAT score and selective admissions point to a caliber of program that should outperform the median. Other Illinois engineering programs cluster in the same $66,000 range for starting salaries, but UIUC's engineering pedigree—consistently ranked among the nation's elite—typically commands premium employer interest that doesn't fully show in these conservative estimates.

The financial math works even using cautious projections: graduating with roughly $26,000 in debt against nearly $70,000 in first-year income gives your child breathing room most liberal arts graduates won't see. For a flagship engineering program with this institutional strength, these estimated benchmarks likely represent a floor rather than a ceiling.