Bachelor's · Baltimore, Maryland

Is Mechanical Engineering at University of Maryland-Baltimore County 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 3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $80,383; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $102,125; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $16,594; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $107k (likely $107k – $144k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $62k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MD; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3 years (likely 2.6–3.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $295k (likely $197k – $386k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.02M (likely $815k – $1.27M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 68%; 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 / ≤ 20%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20