Chemical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Virginia Tech's chemical engineering graduates command strong starting salaries—$82,382 puts them nearly $10,000 above the national median and at the 95th percentile nationally. That's exceptional positioning for a program at a school with a 57% admission rate. The debt picture is manageable too: at $25,350, graduates owe roughly 3.7 months of their first-year salary, well below concerning thresholds.

The state context adds an interesting wrinkle. Among Virginia's five chemical engineering programs, Tech sits squarely at the median for both earnings and debt—trailing UVA by about $3,400 but ahead of VCU. For in-state students paying significantly lower tuition than out-of-state peers, this becomes an even stronger value proposition: you're getting nationally elite outcomes at what's effectively a discount price point. Four-year earnings show modest but steady growth to nearly $90,000.

The moderate sample size means some year-to-year variation is possible, but the fundamentals here are solid. For Virginia residents especially, Tech delivers chemical engineering outcomes that compete with top-tier programs nationally while keeping debt reasonable. Out-of-state students should weigh the higher tuition against those strong earnings, but the career trajectory suggests the premium pays off quickly.