Bachelor's · La Jolla, California
Is Mechanical Engineering at University of California-San Diego worth it?
High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.7 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $83,411
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $111,955
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $14,000
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $63k (likely $63k – $67k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $72k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 1.7 years (likely 1.5–2.0)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $449k (likely $372k – $530k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $1.28M (likely $1.09M – $1.52M)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 86%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Mechanical Engineering at other schools
Other majors at University of California-San Diego
- Computer Science (Master's)$231,397
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's)$201,287
- Computer Engineering (Master's)$173,180
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$169,987
- Physics (Doctoral)$166,997
- Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral)$165,543
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$159,487
- Engineering, Other (Master's)$158,915
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$149,271
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$149,139
- Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Doctoral)$148,833
- Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's)$145,693
Mechanical Engineering at other schools in California
- Cal Poly Maritime Academy$126,395
- Santa Clara University$122,111
- University of California-Berkeley$119,371
- Stanford University$117,072
- University of California-Los Angeles$108,875
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$106,750
- California Baptist University$105,046
- University of Southern California$104,649
- University of California-Santa Barbara$104,336
- University of California-Davis$102,161