Bachelor's · Tampa, Florida

Is Mechanical Engineering at University of South Florida 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 1.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $76,839; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $94,790; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $15,375; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $37k (likely $37k – $43k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $58k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in FL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.2 years (likely 1.0–1.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $378k (likely $312k – $447k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.07M (likely $895k – $1.25M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 78%; 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 / ≤ 10%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20