Mechanical Engineeringat Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Graduates earn $78,182/yr in their first year — about 11.0% above the national Mechanical Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $887K; scenarios range from $751K to $935K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at WPI
Graduates earn $78,182/yr, edging above the $70,527 national average for Mechanical Engineering — a modest premium that suggests solid regional demand.
The 3.8x return on tuition is positive but not overwhelming. Financial outcomes depend on keeping costs close to in-state rates.
AI risk is moderate — 53% task exposure — and the 20% scenario spread suggests disruption would dent but not destroy the earnings outlook.
At $27,000 in median debt against $78,182 in first-year earnings, graduates can expect to clear their loan balance in under six months of full earnings.
At #225 out of 320 programs, Worcester Polytechnic Institute's financial outcomes for Mechanical Engineering trail the majority of peers. The value case depends on other factors.
The five-year earnings trajectory from $78,182 to $100,164 shows 28% 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 WPI'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 WPI stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at WPI
Other highest-scoring programs offered at WPI, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Mechanical Engineering at WPI
How does Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Mechanical Engineering program score?
A score of 62/100 reflects decent absolute metrics, but Worcester Polytechnic Institute 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.