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Engineering · Mechanical Engineering Rank #203 of 320

Mechanical Engineeringat New Jersey Institute of Technology

Graduates earn $68,675/yr in their first year — about 3.0% below the national Mechanical Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $791K; scenarios range from $682K to $827K depending on AI disruption.

Newark, NJ Public Bachelor's Degree
DegreeOutlook Score
66 SOLID
67
Optimistic
64
Pessimistic
Earnings
$68,675
1-year post-graduation
ROI
10.5x
Earnings : in-state tuition
10-yr Base
$791K
Cumulative base-case earnings
AI Risk
Very High
57% task exposure
Program Analysis

What this degree looks like at NJIT

First-year earnings of $68,675 track close to the $70,527 national median for Mechanical Engineering programs. This is a middle-of-the-road outcome on salary alone.

The 10.4x earnings multiple means ten-year projected earnings exceed tuition cost by an order of magnitude. By pure financial math, this is a standout.

AI risk is moderate — 53% task exposure — and the 18% scenario spread suggests disruption would dent but not destroy the earnings outlook.

At $20,000 in median debt against $68,675 in first-year earnings, graduates can expect to clear their loan balance in under six months of full earnings.

At #203 out of 320 programs, New Jersey Institute of Technology's financial outcomes for Mechanical Engineering trail the majority of peers. The value case depends on other factors.

The five-year earnings trajectory from $68,675 to $87,372 shows 27% growth, reflecting steady but unremarkable salary progression.

AI Outlook Integration

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.

Pessimistic
Mass Automation
$682K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score64/100
Earnings Multiple9.0x
Base Case
Moderate Integration
$791K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score66/100
Earnings Multiple10.4x
Optimistic
AI Augmentation
$827K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score67/100
Earnings Multiple10.9x
Earnings Trajectory

10 year projection

Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to NJIT's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.

Career Paths

Where Mechanical Engineering graduates typically work

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.

1
Architectural and engineering managers
+3.8% 10-yr growth · 14,500 openings/yr
$167,740/yr
Moderate
2
Aerospace engineers
+6.1% 10-yr growth · 4,500 openings/yr
$134,830/yr
High
3
Engineering teachers, postsecondary
+8.1% 10-yr growth · 4,100 openings/yr
$106,120/yr
High
4
Mechanical engineers
+9.1% 10-yr growth · 18,100 openings/yr
$102,320/yr
High
5
Cost estimators
-4.2% 10-yr growth · 16,900 openings/yr
$77,070/yr
High
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. AI exposure from OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs and Felten AIOE research.
Compare & Explore

Peer schools offering Mechanical Engineering

How NJIT stacks up against other schools offering this major.

Highest earnings
California State University Maritime Academy
CA · Public
79
DW Score
$92K
1-yr earn
36.4x
ROI
Duke University
NC · Private nonprofit
65
DW Score
$90K
1-yr earn
3.8x
ROI
University of California-Berkeley
CA · Public
76
DW Score
$88K
1-yr earn
17.9x
ROI
Cornell University
NY · Private nonprofit
64
DW Score
$85K
1-yr earn
3.3x
ROI
Same state (NJ)
Princeton University
NJ · Private nonprofit
52
DW Score
$85K
1-yr earn
2.6x
ROI
Also at NJIT

Other top programs at NJIT

Other highest-scoring programs offered at NJIT, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.

FAQ

Frequently asked about Mechanical Engineering at NJIT

How does New Jersey Institute of Technology's Mechanical Engineering program score?

A score of 66/100 reflects decent absolute metrics, but New Jersey Institute of Technology trails the majority of Mechanical Engineering programs on relative rankings. Context matters more than the raw number.

How vulnerable is Mechanical Engineering to AI automation?

AI won't 'replace' Mechanical Engineering careers outright, but it is likely to reduce the number of job openings. We model 53% task exposure, which compresses field employment probability in our scenarios.