Mechanical Engineeringat University of California-Merced
Graduates earn $67,096/yr in their first year — about 5.0% below the national Mechanical Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $774K; scenarios range from $670K to $809K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at UC Merced
University of California-Merced's Mechanical Engineering program produces graduates earning $67,096/yr — within striking distance of the $70,527 national average for this field.
The 13.7x 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 17% scenario spread suggests disruption would dent but not destroy the earnings outlook.
Loan repayment is a non-issue here — $18,498 in median debt clears quickly against $67,096 in annual earnings.
At #191 out of 320 programs, University of California-Merced's financial outcomes for Mechanical Engineering trail the majority of peers. The value case depends on other factors.
The five-year earnings trajectory from $67,096 to $85,156 shows 27% 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 UC Merced'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 UC Merced stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at UC Merced
Other highest-scoring programs offered at UC Merced, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Mechanical Engineering at UC Merced
How does University of California-Merced's Mechanical Engineering program score?
A score of 69/100 reflects decent absolute metrics, but University of California-Merced 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.