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Air Transportation at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Carbondale, IL · Public · Bachelor's Degree
59 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
60
Optimistic
59
Base Case
55
Pessimistic
Earnings $44,063/yr (-1% vs median)
AI Risk Moderate (33% exposed)
Job Market Large (60,400 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

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

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $737K $529K $367K
Earnings Multiple 13.9x 10.0x 6.9x
Viable Career Paths 6 of 6 6 of 6 6 of 6
DegreeWorth Score 60 59 55

10-Year Earnings Projection

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

4-Year Tuition
$52,976
Median Debt at Graduation
$18,750
5.1 months of Year 1 earnings
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$66,893
52% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where Air Transportation graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 60,400 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers $226,600 11,700 +3.9% 35%
Air traffic controllers $144,580 2,200 +1.2% 34%
Commercial pilots $122,670 6,600 +5.1% 24%
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers $102,010 18,500 +6.1% 49%
Flight attendants $67,130 19,800 +9.2% 17%
Airfield operations specialists $56,750 1,600 +4.2% 37%

Compare & Explore

Air Transportation at Other Schools

Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus ($88,085) Hallmark University ($79,086) University of North Texas ($56,487) Utah Valley University ($56,402) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott ($54,827) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach ($54,827) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide ($54,827) Everglades University ($53,331)

Other Majors at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Fire Protection ($104,017) Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians ($73,283) Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians ($72,495) Computer Science ($70,053) Mechanical Engineering ($69,454) Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions ($69,021) Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering ($68,670) Civil Engineering ($65,269)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Air Transportation at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale?
This program scores 59/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 60 (optimistic) to 55 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Air Transportation career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Air Transportation graduates retain 6 of 6 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $367,483 (pessimistic) to $736,854 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Air Transportation graduates?
The career paths mapped to Air Transportation have roughly 60,400 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a large job market.
Is Air Transportation at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 10.0x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 6.9x. 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.