---
title: Is a Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies degree worth the debt?
cip: 5126
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 Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Certificate**, across **10** colleges (10 of 10 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $20,084 ($18,254 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $7,222 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.35× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $17,608–$20,512 — 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 | $20,084 | $7,222 | 0.35× | 10 | 10/10 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Washtenaw Community College (MI) | $34,937 | — |
| Carrington College-Sacramento (CA) | $27,488 | — |
| Carrington College-Phoenix North (AZ) | $20,512 | $7,222 |
| Carrington College-Mesa (AZ) | $20,512 | $7,222 |
| Carrington College-Tucson (AZ) | $20,512 | $7,222 |
| Central Louisiana Technical Community College (LA) | $19,655 | $5,500 |
| Northshore Technical Community College (LA) | $18,363 | — |
| Louisiana Delta Community College (LA) | $17,357 | $6,067 |
| Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College (LA) | $15,305 | — |
| NUC University (PR) | $7,991 | $9,500 |

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/health-aides-attendants-orderlies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/health-aides-attendants-orderlies.json`