Mechanical Engineeringat Northeastern University
Graduates earn $80,255/yr in their first year — about 14.0% above the national Mechanical Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $925K; scenarios range from $777K to $977K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at Northeastern University
Northeastern's Mechanical Engineering program consistently delivers strong outcomes, largely driven by its signature co-op program and location in Boston's robust innovation hub. Your extensive real-world experience, gained through placements at companies like Raytheon, General Electric, or local robotics and biotech firms, builds a professional network and practical skills long before graduation. This deep industry integration makes you highly competitive across diverse sectors, from aerospace to medical device manufacturing. While the field faces significant AI disruption, understand this signals a transformation of tasks, not necessarily job elimination. Future roles will demand more emphasis on complex problem-solving, creative design, systems integration, and human-AI collaboration. To best prepare, leverage your co-op experiences to actively develop these higher-order critical thinking and project management skills, positioning yourself for leadership in an evolving landscape.
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 Northeastern University'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 Mechanical Engineering
How Northeastern University stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at Northeastern University
Other highest-scoring programs offered at Northeastern University, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Mechanical Engineering at Northeastern University
What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Mechanical Engineering at Northeastern University?
This program scores 62/100 — a respectable number in isolation, but it ranks in the bottom half of Mechanical Engineering programs nationally. The field is competitive, and stronger options exist.
Will AI replace Mechanical Engineering careers?
With 53% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $777,165 in decade earnings vs $977,379 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.