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Materials Engineeringat Winona State University

Graduates earn $72,944/yr in their first year — about 2.0% above the national Materials Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $727K; scenarios range from $645K to $754K depending on AI disruption.

Winona, MN Public Bachelor's Degree
DegreeOutlook Score
69 SOLID
71
Optimistic
67
Pessimistic
Earnings
$72,944
1-year post-graduation
ROI
18.8x
Earnings : in-state tuition
10-yr Base
$727K
Cumulative base-case earnings
AI Risk
High
54% task exposure
Program Analysis

What this degree looks like at Winona State University

Winona State's Materials Engineering program stands out for a reason: it's well-positioned within a strong regional industrial landscape. Graduates often find themselves in high demand across Minnesota's robust manufacturing, medical device, and aerospace sectors, working for companies like 3M, Medtronic, and Polaris, or contributing to the agricultural technology boom. The program likely emphasizes practical application and industry-relevant projects, preparing you for roles in product development, quality control, and R&D where understanding material properties is critical. This strong pipeline into established industries contributes significantly to the early career success you're seeing. Given the evolving landscape and the indicated AI risk, prioritize developing skills in advanced analytics, interdisciplinary collaboration, and strategic problem-solving to ensure long-term career resilience.

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
$645K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score67/100
Earnings Multiple15.4x
Base Case
Moderate Integration
$727K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score69/100
Earnings Multiple17.3x
Optimistic
AI Augmentation
$754K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score71/100
Earnings Multiple18.0x
Earnings Trajectory

10 year projection

Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to Winona State University'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 Winona State University 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
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 Winona State University

Other top programs at Winona State University

Other highest-scoring programs offered at Winona State University, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.

FAQ

Frequently asked about Materials Engineering at Winona State University

What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Materials Engineering at Winona State University?

A score of 69/100 puts this program in competitive territory — solid outcomes, though not at the top of the Materials Engineering field.

Will AI replace Materials Engineering careers?

With 48% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $644,991 in decade earnings vs $754,006 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.