Graduates earn a median $65,029 two years after finishing, more than 87% of bachelor's majors.
Measured across 76 US programmes by the Department of Education — real graduate pay, not survey answers.
B
The verdict on the money
Yes — graduates earn more than most majors at this level.
Median earnings$65,0292 years after finishing
Typical range$61,380–$67,995middle half of US programmes
Over no degree+$25,509vs $39,520 high-school median
Graduates a year6,19576 programmes
Where a Aerospace Engineering degree pays best
US programmes ranked on their own graduates' median earnings two years out.
It is the median of what real graduates of this exact major earned, taken from tax records two years after
they completed. It is not a starting salary, not an average of job adverts, and not a projection.
The median bachelor's major in this dataset reports $42,682, so Aerospace Engineering sits
above the middle by $22,347.
Two years is early in a career. Fields with long training pipelines — medicine, law, research — look weaker at
this point than they will at ten, while trades and applied technical fields peak sooner. Read a low figure in a
long-pipeline subject as "slow start", not "bad degree".
There is no debt figure here on purpose. The Department of Education publishes earnings by
field of study but not borrowing, so nobody can honestly tell you the debt of a specific major. Debt is
published per institution — that is where our
university cost pages carry it.
We may earn a commission if you take a loan through a provider here. It never changes the earnings figures on
this page — those come from the US Department of Education.
Aerospace Engineering: the questions people ask
How much do Aerospace Engineering graduates earn?
The median bachelor's graduate earns $65,029 two years after finishing (weighting each programme by how many students it graduates), across 59 US programmes that publish the figure. One year out it is $65,118.
Is a Aerospace Engineering degree worth it?
Yes — graduates earn more than most majors at this level. The median graduate earns $25,509 a year more than a US worker whose highest qualification is a high-school diploma.
What is the salary range for Aerospace Engineering?
Half of US programmes report medians between $61,380 and $67,995. Where you study moves this figure more than most applicants expect.
How many people graduate in Aerospace Engineering each year?
About 6,195 students complete a bachelor's in this field each year across 76 US programmes.
Does this include student debt?
No — and deliberately. The Department of Education publishes earnings by field of study but not debt, so any "debt by major" figure you see elsewhere is an estimate. Debt is published per institution, which is why our university pages carry it and this page does not.
Classified by the Department of Education as Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering (CIP 1402).
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings (median earnings of graduates who
received federal financial aid, measured 1–3 years after completion). Figures are per major and credential level,
pooled across US programmes. Information only, not financial advice.