Mechanical Engineeringat The University of Texas at Dallas
Graduates earn $61,113/yr in their first year — about 13.0% below the national Mechanical Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $804K; scenarios range from $691K to $841K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at UT Dallas
At $61,113/yr, Mechanical Engineering graduates from The University of Texas at Dallas land near the $70,527 national average — neither a standout nor a red flag.
The 13.8x 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.
The median debt load of $20,689 represents less than half a year of starting salary — among the lightest debt-to-income ratios we track.
At #196 out of 320 programs, The University of Texas at Dallas's financial outcomes for Mechanical Engineering trail the majority of peers. The value case depends on other factors.
The five-year earnings trajectory from $61,113 to $86,469 shows 41% growth, reflecting steady but unremarkable salary progression.
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 UT Dallas'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 UT Dallas stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at UT Dallas
Other highest-scoring programs offered at UT Dallas, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Mechanical Engineering at UT Dallas
How does The University of Texas at Dallas's Mechanical Engineering program score?
A score of 68/100 reflects decent absolute metrics, but The University of Texas at Dallas 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.