Materials Engineeringat Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Graduates earn $65,919/yr in their first year — about 8.0% below the national Materials Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $873K; scenarios range from $755K to $918K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at MIT
Your MIT Materials Engineering degree opens doors to deeply technical and research-intensive careers, often in critical sectors like aerospace, biotech, semiconductors, or advanced energy solutions. Many graduates leverage this foundation for immediate roles in R&D labs, product development, or process optimization at companies pushing the boundaries of material science. However, a significant portion of MIT grads in this field also choose to pursue graduate studies, particularly PhDs, which can temporarily impact initial earning figures as they invest in further specialization before entering the workforce. This program excels at cultivating innovators and researchers, not just industry practitioners. Given the high AI risk in this field, focusing on interdisciplinary skills, data science applications, and entrepreneurial thinking within your materials expertise will be crucial for long-term career resilience and leadership.
Three scenarios, ten years out
Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.
10 year projection
Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to MIT's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.
Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.
Peer schools offering Materials Engineering
How MIT stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at MIT
Other highest-scoring programs offered at MIT, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Materials Engineering at MIT
What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Materials Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology?
This program scores 56/100 — a respectable number in isolation, but it ranks in the bottom half of Materials Engineering programs nationally. The field is competitive, and stronger options exist.
Will AI replace Materials Engineering careers?
With 48% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $754,816 in decade earnings vs $917,819 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.
Is Massachusetts Institute of Technology a hidden gem for Materials Engineering?
After financial aid, the average student pays $79,252 over four years — 67% below the $240,624 sticker price. That gap makes the ROI significantly better than published tuition suggests.