Bachelor's · Fort Myers, Florida

Is Computer Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 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 1.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $70,910; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $105,962; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $16,598; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $49k (likely $49k – $65k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $70k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in FL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.5 years (likely 1.3–2.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $446k (likely $331k – $562k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.26M (likely $993k – $1.54M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 57%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26