MAJORS · 18 OF 19 BY ROI
Is a computer and information sciences degree worth it?
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$936,339. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$936,339
across 1,140 bachelor’s programs · 123,543 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$874K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$605K ⟷ +$1.18M
NEVER BREAK EVEN
2.5%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
27
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$587K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$120K
The biggest fields inside Computer and Information Sciences
- Computer and Information Sciences, General. 51,363 grads +$1.00M
- Computer Science. 32,289 grads +$1.16M
- Information Science/Studies. 13,528 grads +$880K
- Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. 8,361 grads +$743K
- Computer Software and Media Applications. 6,760 grads +$113K
Mean lifetime ROI per field, cohort-weighted. A category average hides this spread — and the per-school spread inside each field is wider still.
Subfield deep-dives inside Computer and Information Sciences
- Is a general computer & information sciences degree worth it? 51,363 grads +$915K
- Is a computer science degree worth it? 32,289 grads +$1.00M
- Is an information science degree worth it? 13,528 grads +$906K
- Is an information technology degree worth it? 8,361 grads +$608K
- Is a software & media applications degree worth it? 6,760 grads +$29K
Median lifetime ROI per subfield, cohort-weighted. Each page carries the full statistics — spread, break-even age, the share who never break even.
How much of this work is AI already reaching for?
We read what the AI labs measured about their own machines. Microsoft and Anthropic scored how much of real occupations their AI is already used for — then warned it is not a measure of jobs being replaced. Here is where that lands Computer and Information Sciences, judged on where its graduates actually work — not where the degree theoretically leads.
Where Computer and Information Sciences graduates actually work — and how much of each job today’s AI is reaching for (0–1 applicability):
- 29% Software Developers 0.41
- 6% Computer Occupations, All Other 0.41
- 5% Managers, All Other 0.19
- 5% Computer and Information Systems Managers 0.21
- 4% Computer Programmers 0.47
And what people in this field actually bring to AI — the job tasks most taken to Claude, from Anthropic’s usage data:
- Modify existing software to correct errors, to adapt it to new hardware, or to upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
- Write articles, manuals, and other publications, and assist in the distribution of promotional literature about facilities and programs.
- Analyze organizational, occupational, and industrial data to facilitate organizational functions and provide technical information to business, industry, and government.
- Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware, software, or other network and system problems, and replace defective components when necessary.
Exposure isn’t replacement. The score is how much of the task AI touches — not whether the job survives, which turns on judgment, licensure, physical presence, and trust. Sources: Microsoft Research “Working with AI” (CC BY 4.0), the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY), and U.S. Census ACS field-of-degree. Applicability scores are le-teen-derived, not original Microsoft figures; the task list is Anthropic’s observed Claude usage.
Questions
- Is a computer and information sciences degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 1,140 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Computer and Information Sciences is +$936,339 and the median is +$873,705. 2.5% 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 +$604,829 and +$1,183,459.
- How long until a computer and information sciences degree pays off?
- Among Computer and Information Sciences programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 27 (FREOPP 2021). 2.5% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a computer and information sciences major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Computer and Information Sciences graduates span +$604,829 to +$1,183,459 — a +$579K 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.
- Will AI replace computer and information sciences jobs?
- Careful with that word. Two AI labs — Microsoft and Anthropic — measured how much of real occupations their own AI is *already being used for*, then explicitly warned it is NOT a measure of jobs being eliminated. On that measure, Computer and Information Sciences lands in the high-exposure tier: the largest place these grads actually work is software developers (29% of them), where AI applicability sits at 0.41 on a 0–1 scale. Exposure means how much of the *task* AI touches — not whether the job survives, which also depends on judgment, licensure, physical presence, and trust. Computer and Information Sciences is work of words, symbols, and screens — exactly what today's AI is built to manipulate.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 19 categories with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Computer and Information Sciences: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/computer-and-information-sciences