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Chemical Engineering at University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Lafayette, LA · Public · Bachelor's Degree
69 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
72
Optimistic
69
Base Case
62
Pessimistic
Earnings $63,886/yr (-12% vs median)
AI Risk High (48% exposed)
Job Market Large (30,300 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

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

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $1,134K $746K $474K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 27.2x 17.9x 11.4x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 11.7x 7.7x 4.9x
Viable Career Paths 5 of 5 5 of 5 5 of 5
DegreeWorth Score 72 69 62

10-Year Earnings Projection

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

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$41,672
Out-of-state: $96,584
Median Debt at Graduation
$20,927
3.9 months of Year 1 earnings
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$101,365
59% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where Chemical Engineering graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 30,300 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Architectural and engineering managers $167,740 14,500 +3.8% 41%
Chemical engineers $121,860 1,100 +2.6% 46%
Engineers, all other $117,750 9,300 +2.1% 46%
Bioengineers and biomedical engineers $106,950 1,300 +5.2% 59%
Engineering teachers, postsecondary $106,120 4,100 +8.1% 50%

Compare & Explore

Chemical Engineering at Other Schools

Rice University ($87,830) The University of Texas at Austin ($87,365) Lamar University ($87,284) University of Florida ($87,164) Texas A & M University-College Station ($86,176) University of Wisconsin-Madison ($85,945) Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus ($85,847) University of Virginia-Main Campus ($85,772)

Other Majors at University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($80,416) Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering ($76,191) Civil Engineering ($69,177) Mechanical Engineering ($63,812) Computer Science ($62,452) Petroleum Engineering ($49,781) Accounting and Related Services ($46,458) Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians ($45,756)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Chemical Engineering at University of Louisiana at Lafayette?
This program scores 69/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 72 (optimistic) to 62 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Chemical Engineering career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Chemical Engineering graduates retain 5 of 5 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $474,350 (pessimistic) to $1,133,826 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Chemical Engineering graduates?
The career paths mapped to Chemical Engineering have roughly 30,300 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a large job market.
Is Chemical Engineering at University of Louisiana at Lafayette worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 17.9x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 11.4x. 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.