---
title: Is an Ophthalmic and Optometric Support Services and Allied Professions degree worth the debt?
cip: 5118
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 Ophthalmic and Optometric Support Services and Allied Professions degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Associate's**, across **12** colleges (12 of 12 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $38,264 ($38,122 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $13,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.30× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $35,392–$42,264 — 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 | $26,513 | $9,500 | 0.32× | 4 | 4/4 |
| Associate's | $38,264 | $13,000 | 0.30× | 12 | 12/12 |

## Where an 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| J Sargeant Reynolds Community College (VA) | $47,441 | — |
| Hillsborough College (FL) | $45,058 | $12,000 |
| Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (MA) | $42,715 | $14,000 |
| Portland Community College (OR) | $42,113 | — |
| CUNY New York City College of Technology (NY) | $40,306 | — |
| Triton College (IL) | $38,879 | — |
| Miami Dade College (FL) | $37,650 | — |
| Pima Medical Institute-Tucson (AZ) | $36,018 | — |
| Pima Medical Institute-Denver (CO) | $36,018 | — |
| Essex County College (NJ) | $33,512 | — |
| Erie Community College (NY) | $31,868 | — |
| Roane State Community College (TN) | $31,673 | — |

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/ophthalmic-and-optometric-support-services-and-allied-professions.jsonld` · `/education/fields/ophthalmic-and-optometric-support-services-and-allied-professions.json`