Is a Cognitive Science degree worth it?
Across 10 schools, graduates of Cognitive Science earn a median $74,189 five years out on $16,526 of debt — most often working as Self-Enrichment Teachers. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$74,189
Median debt
$16,526
Years to pay off
2.1
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
40%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+3.4%
BLS 2024–2034
Gender pay gap
7.8%
$83,269 vs $76,739
Net price
$22,264/yr
Debt-test failures
0%
of programs
'Real' premium
+$1,255
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Cognitive Science in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.