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Chemistry at California State University-Sacramento

Sacramento, CA · Public · Bachelor's Degree
74 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
77
Optimistic
74
Base Case
67
Pessimistic
Earnings $42,581/yr (3% vs median)
AI Risk High (47% exposed)
Job Market Very Large (169,700 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Chemistry graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $831K $532K $320K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 27.3x 17.5x 10.5x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 10.7x 6.8x 4.1x
Viable Career Paths 14 of 14 14 of 14 14 of 14
DegreeWorth Score 77 74 67

10-Year Earnings Projection

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$30,408
Out-of-state: $77,928
Median Debt at Graduation
$26,263
7.4 months of Year 1 earnings
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$72,393
70% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where Chemistry graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 169,700 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Natural sciences managers $161,180 8,500 +3.7% 50%
Computer and information research scientists $140,910 3,200 +19.7% 63%
Data scientists $112,590 23,400 +33.5% 64%
Computer occupations, all other $108,970 31,300 +8.2% 57%
Physics teachers, postsecondary $97,360 1,300 +2.5% 42%
Environmental science teachers, postsecondary $87,710 700 +2.9% 52%
Chemistry teachers, postsecondary $86,220 1,900 +2.2% 43%
Chemists $84,150 6,300 +4.9% 38%

Compare & Explore

Chemistry at Other Schools

Northeastern University ($62,511) University of California-Berkeley ($59,576) Montclair State University ($55,389) Bridgewater State University ($55,376) University of Delaware ($54,055) Rowan University ($53,607) Towson University ($52,765) State University of New York at Oswego ($52,645)

Other Majors at California State University-Sacramento

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($116,001) Construction Engineering ($90,836) Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering ($74,450) Civil Engineering ($71,342) Mechanical Engineering ($66,462) Computer Engineering ($66,266) Computer Science ($60,028) Interior Architecture ($50,108)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Chemistry at California State University-Sacramento?
This program scores 74/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 77 (optimistic) to 67 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Chemistry career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Chemistry graduates retain 14 of 14 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $319,553 (pessimistic) to $830,972 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Chemistry graduates?
The career paths mapped to Chemistry have roughly 169,700 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a very large job market.
Is Chemistry at California State University-Sacramento worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 17.5x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 10.5x. The spread between scenarios tells you how sensitive this degree is to AI disruption.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Scenarios use a continuous weighting function combining AI exposure and BLS job growth projections. "Earnings Multiple" is total 10-year projected earnings divided by tuition — not a discounted financial ROI. Last updated 2025.