College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do RPI graduates earn?

The reported median is $98,311 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $30,061 per year.

Return is a leading part of the picture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Azimuth puts its return in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,250 more than expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 87th percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,907.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,657. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $12,096.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $98,311, in the 97th percentile. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median, the middle value, is $68,250; the school’s figure is $30,061 above it. Above-expected earnings and the peer comparison point the same way.

Program choice comes with a wide modeled earnings range: the downside scenario is $79,295, the typical scenario is $98,311, and the upside scenario is $136,706. These scenarios are modeled from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

Among programs, Computer Science completers earn a median of $141,528 four years after completion; Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians completers earn $125,531, and Computer and Information Sciences completers earn $115,100. The scenario range and program figures both show that earnings vary by field.

The program mix yields an estimated 25.3% of graduates who continue to graduate study, rather than an observed enrollment count. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so that estimate matters when reading the median: some graduates continuing their education are outside that earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$98,311
Rank for difference from expectations
87th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
RPI reported median
$98,311
Peer schools comparable schools · $30,061 below RPI
$68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $12,250 below RPI
$86,061

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How many RPI students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26
Returned the following fall
91.0%
Completed within six years
80.0%
Pell recipients completed within six years
77.0%

Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention; B4–B11 six-year completion. Retention and completion follow different entering cohorts.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $79,295 to $136,706, around the reported median of $98,311. Compare the lower scenario with RPI borrowing and monthly payments to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion
Planning rangeReported median
Lower estimate
$79,295
Median · reported
$98,311
Higher estimate
$136,706

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do RPI graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

RPI graduates’ reported earnings are $12,250 above that expectation, the 87th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending RPI caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$15,907
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$3,657
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$12,250

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Which fields at RPI report the highest earnings?

At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians is among the ranked fields on four-year earnings, making program choice central to the return picture. Its median earnings are $125,531 four years after completion, with 80 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #1 nationally within its field. The more moderate-earning ranked fields show a different range.

Architecture reports median earnings of $75,551 and 57 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #5 nationally within its field. Design and Applied Arts has median earnings of $87,358 alongside 41 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #5 nationally within its field. These figures show higher and more moderate earnings across the ranked fields.

Engineering accounts for 45.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded. Azimuth assigns national ranks to 15 bachelor’s programs, while earnings data cover 18 fields.

Azimuth ranks Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians #1 nationally among nonprofit four year institutions in its field. It awarded 80 degrees and its completers had median earnings of $125,531 four years after completion.

Architecture ranks #5, with 57 degrees awarded and median earnings of $75,551. Design and Applied Arts ranks #5, awarded 41 degrees, and shows median earnings of $87,358.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Computer Science
$141,528
Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians
$125,531
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$115,100
Mathematics
$105,768
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$104,596
Biomedical/Medical Engineering
$103,306
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$99,713
Chemical Engineering
$98,679

Explore RPI program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Program choice makes a visible difference in the earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix: the downside scenario is $79,295, the typical scenario is $98,311, and the upside scenario is $136,706. Computer Science is the high end at $141,528 four years after completion, while Mechanical Engineering is lower at $92,952. The spread shows how much the earnings picture varies by field.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduates reach median earnings of $98,311 four years after completion, a strong early outcome for the earnings cohort. The figure covers 1,399 federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,250 more than the model expects for similar students.

This is earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. The typical scenario matches the median earnings figure.

An estimated 25.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. High median earnings and above-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.