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Computer and Information Sciences, General at Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA · Public · Bachelor's Degree
87 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
90
Optimistic
87
Base Case
76
Pessimistic
Earnings $68,219/yr (9% vs median)
AI Risk Very High (69% exposed)
Job Market Very Large (338,800 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Computer and Information Sciences, General graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $1,552K $875K $422K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 41.8x 23.6x 11.4x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 13.9x 7.9x 3.8x
Viable Career Paths 14 of 14 14 of 14 9 of 14
DegreeWorth Score 90 87 76

10-Year Earnings Projection

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

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$37,144
Out-of-state: $111,412
Median Debt at Graduation
$18,583
3.3 months of Year 1 earnings
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$129,264
89% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where Computer and Information Sciences, General graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 338,800 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Computer and information systems managers $171,200 55,600 +15.2% 53%
Computer and information research scientists $140,910 3,200 +19.7% 63%
Database architects $135,980 4,000 +8.7% 94%
Software developers $133,080 115,200 +15.8% 87%
Computer network architects $130,390 11,200 +11.9% 61%
Information security analysts $124,910 16,000 +28.5% 65%
Data scientists $112,590 23,400 +33.5% 64%
Computer occupations, all other $108,970 31,300 +8.2% 57%

Compare & Explore

Computer and Information Sciences, General at Other Schools

University of Pennsylvania ($146,204) University of California-Los Angeles ($136,099) Yale University ($133,293) Rice University ($131,154) Northeastern University ($115,587) Northeastern University Professional Programs ($115,587) University of Michigan-Ann Arbor ($113,634) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($113,503)

Other Majors at Western Washington University

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($80,808) Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering ($77,516) Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management ($72,675) Manufacturing Engineering ($65,863) Management Information Systems and Services ($61,668) Polymer/Plastics Engineering ($60,375) Accounting and Related Services ($60,048) Business Administration, Management and Operations ($53,402)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Computer and Information Sciences, General at Western Washington University?
This program scores 87/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 90 (optimistic) to 76 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Computer and Information Sciences, General career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Computer and Information Sciences, General graduates retain 14 of 14 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $422,449 (pessimistic) to $1,552,268 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Computer and Information Sciences, General graduates?
The career paths mapped to Computer and Information Sciences, General have roughly 338,800 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a very large job market.
Is Computer and Information Sciences, General at Western Washington University worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 23.6x 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.