MAJORS · 17 OF 19 BY ROI
Is a transportation, construction, and architecture degree worth it?
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$816,671. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$816,671
across 277 bachelor’s programs · 20,784 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$773K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$548K ⟷ +$1.06M
NEVER BREAK EVEN
0.8%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
29
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$489K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$120K
The biggest fields inside Transportation, Construction, and Architecture
- Architecture. 7,894 grads +$662K
- Air Transportation. 6,236 grads +$937K
- Landscape Architecture. 1,312 grads +$723K
- City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning. 1,118 grads +$457K
- Marine Transportation. 907 grads +$2.40M
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 Transportation, Construction, and Architecture
- Is an architecture degree worth it? 7,894 grads +$677K
- Is an aviation degree worth it? 6,236 grads +$882K
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 Transportation, Construction, and Architecture, judged on where its graduates actually work — not where the degree theoretically leads.
Where Transportation, Construction, and Architecture graduates actually work — and how much of each job today’s AI is reaching for (0–1 applicability):
- 21% Architects, Except Landscape and Naval 0.26
- 9% Construction Managers 0.21
- 7% Managers, All Other 0.19
- 4% Project Management Specialists 0.23
- 3% Chief Executives 0.21
And what people in this field actually bring to AI — the job tasks most taken to Claude, from Anthropic’s usage data:
- Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan layout, including type of computers and peripheral equipment modifications.
- Participate in the hiring process by reviewing credentials, conducting interviews, or making hiring decisions or recommendations.
- Write articles, manuals, and other publications, and assist in the distribution of promotional literature about facilities and programs.
- Test machines, components, materials, or products to determine characteristics such as performance, strength, or response to stress.
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 transportation, construction, and architecture degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 277 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Transportation, Construction, and Architecture is +$816,671 and the median is +$772,566. 0.8% 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 +$548,343 and +$1,057,231.
- How long until a transportation, construction, and architecture degree pays off?
- Among Transportation, Construction, and Architecture programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 29 (FREOPP 2021). 0.8% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a transportation, construction, and architecture major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Transportation, Construction, and Architecture graduates span +$548,343 to +$1,057,231 — a +$509K 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 transportation, construction, and architecture 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, Transportation, Construction, and Architecture lands in the lower-exposure tier: the largest place these grads actually work is architects, except landscape and naval (21% of them), where AI applicability sits at 0.26 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. Near the bottom of AI's reach — this is work of bodies, care, and physical presence a model can't stand in for.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 19 categories with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Transportation, Construction, and Architecture: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/transportation-construction-and-architecture