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Environmental Health Engineering at Purdue University-Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN · Public · Bachelor's Degree · Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
70 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
71
Optimistic
70
Base Case
64
Pessimistic
Earnings $71,861/yr (13% vs median)
AI Risk Very High (50% exposed)
Job Market Medium (23,100 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Environmental Health Engineering graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $824K $699K $527K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 20.6x 17.5x 13.2x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 7.2x 6.1x 4.6x
Viable Career Paths 4 of 4 4 of 4 4 of 4
DegreeWorth Score 71 70 64

10-Year Earnings Projection

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

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$39,968
Out-of-state: $115,176
Median Debt at Graduation
$16,316
2.7 months of Year 1 earnings

Career Paths

Where Environmental Health Engineering graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 23,100 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Architectural and engineering managers $167,740 14,500 +3.8% 41%
Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors $109,660 1,500 +4.4% 54%
Engineering teachers, postsecondary $106,120 4,100 +8.1% 50%
Environmental engineers $104,170 3,000 +3.9% 56%

Compare & Explore

Environmental Health Engineering at Other Schools

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ($82,197) Texas Tech University ($76,708) Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus ($70,008) Cornell University ($69,558) University of Wisconsin-Platteville ($69,490) Colorado School of Mines ($69,102) Clemson University ($68,363) Oregon State University ($68,223)

Other Majors at Purdue University-Main Campus

Computer Science ($94,786) Computer Engineering ($89,965) Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering ($84,300) Industrial Engineering ($81,379) Chemical Engineering ($81,105) Mechanical Engineering ($80,374) Materials Engineering ($78,265) Construction Engineering ($76,966)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Environmental Health Engineering at Purdue University-Main Campus?
This program scores 70/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 71 (optimistic) to 64 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Environmental Health Engineering career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Environmental Health Engineering graduates retain 4 of 4 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $526,566 (pessimistic) to $823,805 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Environmental Health Engineering graduates?
The career paths mapped to Environmental Health Engineering have roughly 23,100 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a medium job market.
Is Environmental Health Engineering at Purdue University-Main Campus 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 13.2x. 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.