Virginia Military Institute Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
- Public school
- Lexington, VA
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Virginia Military Institute mechanical engineering graduates earn less than graduates of most mechanical engineering programs nationally, $47,837 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,971 in federal loans, less than at 79% of mechanical engineering programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Virginia median of $73,355.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all mechanical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Virginia Military Institute graduates earn less than the national figure and about $7,451 less than the Virginia median. Several Virginia programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia mechanical engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 75% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $212 a month, or 5.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the parts of Virginia outside metro areas are about 12% below the national average, so a $47,837 salary here buys what about $54,138 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Mechanical Engineers
$104,180Median pay in Virginia. 7,470 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Cost Estimators
$80,530Median pay in Virginia. 5,840 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$176,160Median pay in Virginia. 4,390 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Aerospace Engineers
$143,210Median pay in Virginia. 2,540 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Virginia Military Institute
Mechanical Engineering ranks 3rd of 10 bachelor's programs at Virginia Military Institute by first-year earnings. The top three are Civil Engineering ($61,547), Computer Science ($58,225), and Mechanical Engineering ($47,837).
Other mechanical engineering bachelor's programs near Lexington
Common questions
The median graduate earns $47,837 one year after graduating and $83,811 five years after. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Virginia is $73,355.
The median federal loan balance is $19,971, which ranks the lowest of 7 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $212 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 42% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%. Compare the cost with other Virginia programs before deciding.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Virginia comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the mechanical engineering program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024