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

Is a Construction Engineering Technology/Technician degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 37 colleges (37 of 37 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$64,628

Graduates only, early career.$63,997 two years out.

Median federal debt

$22,479

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.38×

38% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Construction Engineering Technology/Technician report early-career pay between $61,438 and $66,571 — a spread of $5,133 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $61,438 median $64,628 75th pct $66,571

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 5 colleges $39,898 $12,000 0.26×

Bachelor's 37 colleges $64,628 $22,479 0.38×

Where a 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.

California State University-Long Beach CA $83,666 $18,000 debt

California State University-Northridge CA $79,863 —

San Diego State University CA $79,248 —

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona CA $75,286 $16,500 debt

University of Florida FL $71,213 $14,869 debt

Florida International University FL $69,490 $21,000 debt

Colorado State University-Fort Collins CO $69,069 $23,500 debt

Texas A&M University-College Station TX $68,699 $19,000 debt

University of North Florida FL $66,614 $22,479 debt

University of Houston TX $66,571 $21,500 debt

CUNY New York City College of Technology NY $66,387 —

California State University-Fresno CA $66,380 $13,750 debt

Texas State University TX $66,059 $22,000 debt

Kansas State University KS $65,948 $27,000 debt

Michigan State University MI $65,740 $25,250 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Construction Engineering Technology/Technician, 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