Home Schools University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Materials Engineering
Engineering · Materials Engineering Rank #26 of 33

Materials Engineeringat University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Graduates earn $69,175/yr in their first year — about 3.0% below the national Materials Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $690K; scenarios range from $617K to $713K depending on AI disruption.

Milwaukee, WI Public Bachelor's Degree
DegreeOutlook Score
58 SOLID
59
Optimistic
56
Pessimistic
Earnings
$69,175
1-year post-graduation
ROI
16.3x
Earnings : in-state tuition
10-yr Base
$690K
Cumulative base-case earnings
AI Risk
High
54% task exposure
Program Analysis

What this degree looks like at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Graduates earn $69,175/yr, roughly in line with the $71,341 national median for Materials Engineering. The value proposition here depends on cost, not earnings.

The 17.2x 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 — 48% task exposure — and the 13% scenario spread suggests disruption would dent but not destroy the earnings outlook.

At #26 out of 33 programs, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's financial outcomes for Materials Engineering trail the majority of peers. The value case depends on other factors.

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
$617K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score56/100
Earnings Multiple15.4x
Base Case
Moderate Integration
$690K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score58/100
Earnings Multiple17.2x
Optimistic
AI Augmentation
$713K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score59/100
Earnings Multiple17.8x
Earnings Trajectory

10 year projection

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

Career Paths

Where Materials 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
Materials engineers
+5.7% 10-yr growth · 1,500 openings/yr
$108,310/yr
Moderate
3
Engineering teachers, postsecondary
+8.1% 10-yr growth · 4,100 openings/yr
$106,120/yr
High
4
Cost estimators
-4.2% 10-yr growth · 16,900 openings/yr
$77,070/yr
High
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. AI exposure from OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs and Felten AIOE research.
Compare & Explore

Peer schools offering Materials Engineering

How University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee stacks up against other schools offering this major.

Highest earnings
University of Florida
FL · Public
73
DW Score
$79K
1-yr earn
32.7x
ROI
Michigan State University
MI · Public
69
DW Score
$78K
1-yr earn
14.0x
ROI
Same state (WI)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
WI · Public
70
DW Score
$77K
1-yr earn
18.0x
ROI
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
GA · Public
71
DW Score
$76K
1-yr earn
18.0x
ROI
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
IL · Public
69
DW Score
$75K
1-yr earn
14.1x
ROI
Also at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Other top programs at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Other highest-scoring programs offered at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.

FAQ

Frequently asked about Materials Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

How does University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Materials Engineering program score?

A score of 58/100 reflects decent absolute metrics, but University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee trails the majority of Materials Engineering programs on relative rankings. Context matters more than the raw number.

How vulnerable is Materials Engineering to AI automation?

AI won't 'replace' Materials Engineering careers outright, but it is likely to reduce the number of job openings. We model 48% task exposure, which compresses field employment probability in our scenarios.