Environmental Engineeringat University of California-Riverside
Graduates earn $59,309/yr in their first year — about 7.0% below the national Environmental Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $747K; scenarios range from $653K to $774K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at UC Riverside
At $59,309/yr, Environmental Engineering graduates from University of California-Riverside land near the $63,650 national average — neither a standout nor a red flag.
The 13.2x 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 — 50% task exposure — and the 16% scenario spread suggests disruption would dent but not destroy the earnings outlook.
The median debt load of $18,068 represents less than half a year of starting salary — among the lightest debt-to-income ratios we track.
Ranked #12 out of 47 programs, University of California-Riverside's Environmental Engineering offering sits in the upper half but doesn't break into the top tier.
The five-year earnings trajectory from $59,309 to $81,979 shows 38% 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 Riverside'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 Environmental Engineering
How UC Riverside stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at UC Riverside
Other highest-scoring programs offered at UC Riverside, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Environmental Engineering at UC Riverside
How does University of California-Riverside's Environmental Engineering program score?
This program scores 63/100, reflecting respectable but not exceptional financial outcomes for Environmental Engineering graduates.
How vulnerable is Environmental Engineering to AI automation?
AI won't 'replace' Environmental Engineering careers outright, but it is likely to reduce the number of job openings. We model 50% task exposure, which compresses field employment probability in our scenarios.