MAJORS · 109 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a mechanical engineering degree worth it?
Part of Engineering — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$1,113,076. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$1,113,076
across 290 bachelor’s programs · 54,017 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$1.11M
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$972K ⟷ +$1.25M
NEVER BREAK EVEN
0%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
27
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$772K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$123K
Questions
- Is a mechanical engineering degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 290 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Mechanical Engineering is +$1,113,076 and the median is +$1,109,432. 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 +$971,644 and +$1,252,165.
- How long until a mechanical engineering degree pays off?
- Among Mechanical Engineering programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 27 (FREOPP 2021). 0% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a mechanical engineering major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Mechanical Engineering graduates span +$971,644 to +$1,252,165 — a +$281K 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). “Mechanical Engineering: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/mechanical-engineering