Engineering at University of Washington-Seattle Campus

An estimated first-year salary of $72,877 against roughly $22,875 in debt translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.31—meaning graduates from comparable engineering programs would need about four months of gross income to cover their educational borrowing. That's a manageable starting point for a field known for strong earning potential. Since Washington has only one public engineering program at this level and UW-Seattle's data is suppressed due to small sample size, these estimates draw from peer engineering programs nationally, which cluster tightly around $73,000 in median first-year earnings.

What you're essentially getting here is the flagship public university experience in a tech-heavy metro where Boeing, Amazon, and Microsoft recruit heavily. The 43% admission rate suggests selectivity without being impossibly competitive, and with only 15% of students on Pell grants, the student body skews toward families who can shoulder more of the cost directly. Engineering programs typically follow predictable earnings trajectories regardless of specific campus, so the estimated figures align with what you'd expect from a solid state university program.

The practical limitation is that you're making this decision with benchmarks rather than school-specific outcomes. If your child is comparing this to Washington State's engineering program or out-of-state options with reported data, you'll need to weigh the UW brand and Seattle's job market against the uncertainty of working from estimates. For in-state tuition and strong regional employer connections, the fundamentals look sound.