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

Is an Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 33 colleges (33 of 33 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$55,063

Graduates only, early career.$58,673 two years out.

Median federal debt

$24,500

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.41×

41% 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 Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General report early-career pay between $51,526 and $59,910 — a spread of $8,384 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $51,526 median $55,063 75th pct $59,910

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 10 colleges $42,610 $11,500 0.25×

Bachelor's 33 colleges $55,063 $24,500 0.41×

Master's 3 colleges $86,603 $35,080 0.41×

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.

Drexel University PA $69,650 $31,000 debt

Miami University-Hamilton OH $66,101 $18,750 debt

Miami University-Middletown OH $66,101 $18,750 debt

Miami University-Oxford OH $66,101 $18,750 debt

Bemidji State University MN $65,403 —

Kennesaw State University GA $62,113 $28,801 debt

Texas A&M University-College Station TX $61,344 —

Illinois State University IL $60,390 $17,750 debt

University of Central Missouri MO $59,910 $24,500 debt

New Jersey Institute of Technology NJ $59,786 $22,500 debt

Wichita State University KS $59,222 $22,154 debt

New Mexico State University-Main Campus NM $58,548 $21,500 debt

University of Wisconsin-Stout WI $58,510 $23,000 debt

Western Carolina University NC $57,173 $25,250 debt

Morehead State University KY $55,465 $27,000 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General, 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