---
title: Is a Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?
cip: 1509
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 Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Associate's**, across **8** colleges (8 of 8 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $54,986 ($48,432 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $19,625 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.46× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $51,402–$56,768 — 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 | $54,986 | $19,625 | 0.46× | 8 | 8/8 |

## Where a Associate's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OK) | $73,434 | — |
| Navarro College (TX) | $61,549 | — |
| Lackawanna College (PA) | $55,175 | — |
| Lewis and Clark Community College (IL) | $55,136 | — |
| Fletcher Technical Community College (LA) | $54,837 | — |
| Nicholls State University (LA) | $54,415 | — |
| Houston City College (TX) | $42,364 | $19,625 |
| Southwest Mississippi Community College (MS) | $32,583 | — |

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/mining-and-petroleum-technologies-technicians.jsonld` · `/education/fields/mining-and-petroleum-technologies-technicians.json`