---
title: Is a Construction Trades, General degree worth the debt?
cip: 4600
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 Construction Trades, General degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Certificate**, across **5** colleges (5 of 5 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $25,349 ($22,192 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $9,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.38× a first year's pay


**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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $25,349 | $9,500 | 0.38× | 5 | 5/5 |

## Where a Certificate in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Great Oaks Career Campuses (OH) | $28,079 | — |
| North American Trade Schools (MD) | $27,043 | $10,391 |
| Summit Academy Opportunities Industrialization Center (MN) | $25,349 | — |
| Apex Technical School (NY) | $23,313 | $9,500 |
| Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCES (NY) | $22,191 | $4,766 |

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/construction-trades-general.jsonld` · `/education/fields/construction-trades-general.json`