MAJORS · 111 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is an aerospace engineering degree worth it?
Part of Engineering — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$1,257,452. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$1,257,452
across 60 bachelor’s programs · 6,261 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$1.25M
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$1.16M ⟷ +$1.37M
NEVER BREAK EVEN
0%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
26
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$950K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$118K
Questions
- Is an aerospace engineering degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 60 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Aerospace Engineering is +$1,257,452 and the median is +$1,248,744. 0% of graduates in this field never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between +$1,159,240 and +$1,367,216.
- How long until an aerospace engineering degree pays off?
- Among Aerospace Engineering programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 26 (FREOPP 2021). 0% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for an aerospace engineering major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Aerospace Engineering graduates span +$1,159,240 to +$1,367,216 — a +$208K spread within one major. The same field can be a strong trade at one school and a losing one at another, which is why the per-school number matters more than the field average.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 115 subfields with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Aerospace Engineering: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/aerospace-engineering