CollegeCostWise

First professional · Berkeley, California

Is Mechanical Engineering at University of California-Berkeley 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 1.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating
$117,093
Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating
$151,223
Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation
$50,062
NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
$53k (likely $53k – $53k)
AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4
$83k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA
2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback
1.7 years (likely 1.3–2.3)
Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return
$414k (likely $213k – $620k)
Today's dollars
20-year net return
$1.41M (likely $956k – $1.90M)
Today's dollars

Change income, residency or loans Compare Mechanical Engineering at other schools

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.

Other majors at University of California-Berkeley