College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is an Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 22 colleges (22 of 22 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$25,953

Graduates only, early career.$26,114 two years out.

Median federal debt

$27,000

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

1.09×

109% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt roughly equals or exceeds a first year's pay — weigh the time-to-payoff.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians report early-career pay between $23,828 and $27,007 — a spread of $3,179 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $23,828 median $25,953 75th pct $27,007

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 8 colleges $21,386 $9,500 0.49×

Associate's 18 colleges $22,210 $16,056 0.74×

Bachelor's 22 colleges $25,953 $27,000 1.09×

Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

New England Institute of Technology RI $33,865 $27,083 debt

Bowie State University MD $31,607 $22,750 debt

Husson University ME $29,532 $27,000 debt

SAE Expression College $27,865 $37,500 debt

Webster University MO $27,336 —

Belmont University TN $27,055 $22,500 debt

American University DC $26,863 $19,085 debt

Ferris State University MI $26,852 $21,997 debt

The Art Institute of Atlanta $26,808 $39,063 debt

SUNY Buffalo State University NY $26,612 $18,375 debt

AI Miami International University of Art and Design $25,953 $46,997 debt

Miami International University of Art & Design-Art Institute Dallas $25,953 $46,997 debt

Long Island University NY $25,436 —

St. John's University-New York NY $24,949 $27,000 debt

Columbia College Chicago IL $23,934 $26,250 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard