---
title: Is a Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?
cip: 1502
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **15** colleges (15 of 15 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $57,999 ($57,318 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,812 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.45× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $55,157–$59,155 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $48,763 | $14,250 | 0.28× | 5 | 5/5 |
| Bachelor's | $57,999 | $25,812 | 0.45× | 15 | 15/15 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Colorado State University Pueblo (CO) | $62,814 | — |
| Temple University (PA) | $61,841 | — |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte (NC) | $60,891 | $22,812 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) | $59,156 | $25,250 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver (CO) | $59,154 | $28,247 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus (NJ) | $58,252 | — |
| Murray State University (KY) | $58,121 | $22,250 |
| University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (PA) | $57,999 | — |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (PA) | $57,999 | — |
| SUNY Polytechnic Institute (NY) | $56,696 | $17,104 |
| Pennsylvania College of Technology (PA) | $56,035 | $26,375 |
| Fairmont State University (WV) | $54,279 | — |
| University of Houston-Downtown (TX) | $53,110 | — |
| Youngstown State University (OH) | $51,058 | $27,750 |
| Savannah State University (GA) | $47,337 | $30,717 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/civil-engineering-technologies-technicians.jsonld` · `/education/fields/civil-engineering-technologies-technicians.json`