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Engineering · Agricultural Engineering Rank #7 of 21

Agricultural Engineeringat University of Wisconsin-Madison

Graduates earn $67,746/yr in their first year — about 4.0% above the national Agricultural Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $707K; scenarios range from $630K to $723K depending on AI disruption.

Madison, WI Public Bachelor's Degree
DegreeOutlook Score
66 SOLID
67
Optimistic
65
Pessimistic
Earnings
$67,746
1-year post-graduation
ROI
16.6x
Earnings : in-state tuition
10-yr Base
$707K
Cumulative base-case earnings
AI Risk
High
51% task exposure
Program Analysis

What this degree looks like at UW-Madison

Your investment in UW-Madison's Agricultural Engineering program taps into a nationally recognized institution with deep roots in agricultural innovation. The university's strong ties to Wisconsin's robust agricultural economy – from leading dairy and food processing industries to advanced agricultural machinery manufacturers – create a direct pipeline to diverse and impactful careers. This strong regional demand, coupled with the program's interdisciplinary nature spanning environmental systems, bioenergy, and food engineering, equips graduates with highly sought-after skills. You'll find opportunities in consulting, product development, and management, roles that require human oversight and systems thinking. To maximize your competitive edge, focus your electives and internships on emerging areas like precision agriculture or sustainable resource management, ensuring your expertise complements evolving industry technology.

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
$630K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score65/100
Earnings Multiple14.0x
Base Case
Moderate Integration
$707K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score66/100
Earnings Multiple15.8x
Optimistic
AI Augmentation
$723K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score67/100
Earnings Multiple16.1x
Earnings Trajectory

10 year projection

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

Career Paths

Where Agricultural 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
Engineering teachers, postsecondary
+8.1% 10-yr growth · 4,100 openings/yr
$106,120/yr
High
3
Agricultural engineers
+5.9% 10-yr growth · 100 openings/yr
$84,630/yr
Moderate
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. AI exposure from OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs and Felten AIOE research.
Compare & Explore

Peer schools offering Agricultural Engineering

How UW-Madison stacks up against other schools offering this major.

Highest earnings
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
VA · Public
65
DW Score
$75K
1-yr earn
12.0x
ROI
Texas A & M University-College Station
TX · Public
67
DW Score
$75K
1-yr earn
14.5x
ROI
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA · Public
70
DW Score
$73K
1-yr earn
19.3x
ROI
Iowa State University
IA · Public
68
DW Score
$72K
1-yr earn
17.5x
ROI
Purdue University-Main Campus
IN · Public
70
DW Score
$72K
1-yr earn
20.4x
ROI
Also at UW-Madison

Other top programs at UW-Madison

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

FAQ

Frequently asked about Agricultural Engineering at UW-Madison

What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Agricultural Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison?

A score of 66/100 puts this program in competitive territory — solid outcomes, though not at the top of the Agricultural Engineering field.

Will AI replace Agricultural Engineering careers?

With 45% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $629,717 in decade earnings vs $723,320 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.