Master's · West Lafayette, Indiana

Is Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering at Purdue University-Main Campus worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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 0.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $124,099; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $147,716; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $25,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $27k (likely $27k – $27k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $85k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in IN; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.8 years (likely 0.5–1.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $654k (likely $417k – $921k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.67M (likely $1.14M – $2.28M); Today's dollars

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