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Career outcomes brief

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# The University of Alabama Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/the-university-of-alabama/)[Cost & aid](/school/the-university-of-alabama/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/the-university-of-alabama/admissions/)[Majors](/school/the-university-of-alabama/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/the-university-of-alabama/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do The University of Alabama graduates earn?

The reported median is $70,439 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $4,829 per year.

At The University of Alabama, earnings sit above comparable peers, though the model places graduates effectively at its expected level. Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $70,439 four years after completion, in the 77th percentile. Graduates earn about $131 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That earnings-beyond-expectations result is in the 55th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,603.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,472. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610; the university stands $4,829 above it.

Program choice shapes a wide modeled earnings range at the university. The downside earnings scenario is $49,034, whereas the upside scenario is $92,815; both are scenarios estimated from the program mix rather than observed groups.

At the higher end, median earnings four years after completion reach $115,980 in Computer and Information Sciences, $105,393 in Management Information Systems and Services, and $100,857 in Chemical Engineering. These program figures show why the modeled range is broad.

An estimated 27.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so that estimate matters when reading the reported median: some graduates pursuing further study are outside that earnings snapshot.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$70,439

**Rank for difference from expectations**
55th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**The University of Alabama reported median**
$70,439

**Peer schools comparable schools · $4,829 below The University of Alabama**
$65,610

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $131 below The University of Alabama**
$70,308

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](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $49,034 to $92,815, around the reported median of $70,439. Compare the lower scenario with [The University of Alabama borrowing and monthly payments](/school/the-university-of-alabama/cost/) 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**
$49,034

**Median · reported**
$70,439

**Higher estimate**
$92,815

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](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do The University of Alabama 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](/methodology/#value-added).

The University of Alabama graduates’ reported earnings are $131 above that expectation, the 55th 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 The University of Alabama caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$12,603

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$12,472

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$131

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

## Which fields at The University of Alabama report the highest earnings?

Program choice at The University of Alabama spans higher-earning technical fields and more moderate-earning interdisciplinary and human-sciences fields four years after completion. Management Information Systems and Services pairs median earnings of $105,393 with 104 degrees awarded; [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) it #12 nationally within its field.

Chemical Engineering reports $100,857 in median earnings across 159 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth national field rank of #37. On the more moderate-earning side, Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies shows $56,945 and 89 degrees awarded, with Azimuth placing it #8 nationally within its field.

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences records $57,205 in median earnings from 120 degrees awarded and ranks #2 nationally in its field by Azimuth. The figures show that a strong field rank and four-year earnings do not always move in lockstep.

Business accounts for 28.6% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and The University of Alabama has 41 ranked programs. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences #2 nationally in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions; it awarded 120 degrees and had median earnings of $57,205 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies #4 nationally in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions. It awarded 40 degrees and had median earnings of $65,674 four years after completion.

Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies ranks #8 nationally, awarded 89 degrees, and shows median earnings of $56,945 four years after completion. The rankings span different fields, and the earnings figures vary across them.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$115,980

**Management Information Systems and Services**
$105,393

**Chemical Engineering**
$100,857

**Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering**
$98,943

**Mechanical Engineering**
$95,079

**Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering**
$91,999

**Civil Engineering**
$87,685

**Accounting and Related Services**
$87,621

[Explore The University of Alabama program cohorts and field ranks](/school/the-university-of-alabama/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings vary by field. Grounded in the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $49,034, the typical scenario is $70,439, and the upside scenario is $92,815.

Computer and Information Sciences reaches $115,980 four years after completion; among the largest programs, Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication is at $68,227. These are earnings scenarios rather than observed groups.

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, The University of Alabama posts median earnings of $70,439 four years after completion. Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 6,139 completers.

Graduates earn about $131 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix range from $49,034 in the downside scenario to $92,815 in the upside scenario, with $70,439 as the typical scenario.

An estimated 27.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The typical earnings scenario and the near-expected earnings result point to a graduate pay picture centered close to the model’s expectation.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).