Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown

University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown's engineering program offers solid fundamentals but trails other Pennsylvania options on earnings. At $76,853 starting out, graduates earn about $4,000 less than the state median and sit at the 40th percentile among Pennsylvania engineering programs—a meaningful gap when the state hosts powerhouses like Carnegie Mellon and competitive options like Drexel and Lehigh. The $27,000 median debt is manageable, creating a comfortable 0.35 debt-to-earnings ratio, but the relatively modest starting salary means your child will take longer to reach financial milestones than peers at stronger programs.

The 11% earnings growth to $85,235 by year four is respectable, though it doesn't close the gap with competitors. For context, your child would be earning roughly $15,000 less annually than a Villanova graduate four years in. Given the institution's 96% acceptance rate and below-average SAT scores, this appears to be a case where the school's overall academic profile constrains the engineering program's outcomes—engineering recruiters often tier their campus visits based on institutional reputation.

If your child is admitted to higher-ranked Pennsylvania engineering programs, those represent better investments. However, if Pitt-Johnstown offers significantly lower tuition or your child needs the accessibility of a less selective program, the debt load is light enough that this becomes a reasonable choice. Just understand they'll likely need to work harder to compete for top entry-level positions.