---
title: Is an Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General degree worth the debt?
cip: 1500
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 an Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **33** colleges (33 of 33 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $55,063 ($58,673 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.41× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $51,526–$59,910 — 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 | $42,610 | $11,500 | 0.25× | 10 | 10/10 |
| Bachelor's | $55,063 | $24,500 | 0.41× | 33 | 33/33 |
| Master's | $86,603 | $35,080 | 0.41× | 3 | 3/3 |

## Where an 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Drexel University (PA) | $69,650 | $31,000 |
| Miami University-Hamilton (OH) | $66,101 | $18,750 |
| Miami University-Middletown (OH) | $66,101 | $18,750 |
| Miami University-Oxford (OH) | $66,101 | $18,750 |
| Bemidji State University (MN) | $65,403 | — |
| Kennesaw State University (GA) | $62,113 | $28,801 |
| Texas A&M University-College Station (TX) | $61,344 | — |
| Illinois State University (IL) | $60,390 | $17,750 |
| University of Central Missouri (MO) | $59,910 | $24,500 |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJ) | $59,786 | $22,500 |
| Wichita State University (KS) | $59,222 | $22,154 |
| New Mexico State University-Main Campus (NM) | $58,548 | $21,500 |
| University of Wisconsin-Stout (WI) | $58,510 | $23,000 |
| Western Carolina University (NC) | $57,173 | $25,250 |
| Morehead State University (KY) | $55,465 | $27,000 |

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