---
title: Is a Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?
cip: 1513
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 Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **14** colleges (14 of 14 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $48,536 ($54,154 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $27,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.46× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $37,568–$58,625 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $36,153 | $13,880 | 0.38× | 3 | 3/3 |
| Associate's | $40,678 | $12,295 | 0.32× | 37 | 37/37 |
| Bachelor's | $48,536 | $27,000 | 0.46× | 14 | 14/14 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Central Michigan University (MI) | $74,597 | $28,500 |
| Western Michigan University (MI) | $68,647 | $29,875 |
| Eastern Michigan University (MI) | $64,898 | — |
| Trine University (IN) | $58,625 | $27,000 |
| Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses (IN) | $58,625 | $27,000 |
| University of Central Missouri (MO) | $53,266 | $20,972 |
| Weber State University (UT) | $50,966 | — |
| Pennsylvania College of Technology (PA) | $46,106 | $27,000 |
| Academy of Art University (CA) | $44,238 | $40,171 |
| Murray State University (KY) | $43,114 | $22,500 |
| Indiana University-Indianapolis (IN) | $35,720 | $26,000 |
| The Art Institute of Houston | $35,146 | — |
| The Art Institute of Austin | $35,146 | — |
| The Art Institute of San Antonio | $35,146 | — |

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/drafting-design-engineering-technologies-technicians.jsonld` · `/education/fields/drafting-design-engineering-technologies-technicians.json`