Bachelor's · Carbondale, Illinois

Is Computer Science at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale 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 1.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $71,723; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $98,066; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $17,781; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $53k (likely $53k – $70k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $59k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.9 years (likely 1.6–2.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $333k (likely $221k – $454k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.02M (likely $770k – $1.31M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 59%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26