Is a Natural Sciences degree worth it?
Across 11 schools, graduates of Natural Sciences earn a median $65,682 five years out on $26,000 of debt — most often working as Postsecondary Teachers, All Other. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$65,682
Median debt
$26,000
Years to pay off
3.8
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
52%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+2.6%
BLS 2024–2034
Net price
$19,409/yr
Debt-test failures
0%
of programs
'Real' premium
+$8,848
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Natural Sciences 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.