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

Is a Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 19 colleges (19 of 19 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$61,310

Graduates only, early career.$59,402 two years out.

Median federal debt

$24,718

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 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians report early-career pay between $56,232 and $65,712 — a spread of $9,480 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $56,232 median $61,310 75th pct $65,712

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 6 colleges $42,596 $15,036 0.27×

Bachelor's 19 colleges $61,310 $24,718 0.41×

Master's 12 colleges $73,610 $36,693 0.48×

Where a 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.

Columbia Southern University AL $68,385 $23,425 debt

Central Washington University WA $68,024 $25,333 debt

Eastern Kentucky University KY $67,935 $30,849 debt

Jacksonville State University AL $66,518 $20,500 debt

Waldorf University IA $65,975 $18,699 debt

Murray State University KY $65,448 $24,561 debt

Indiana University of Pennsylvania PA $64,115 $26,000 debt

Marshall University WV $61,623 $24,875 debt

University of Central Missouri MO $61,348 $27,000 debt

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania PA $61,310 $24,000 debt

Millersville University of Pennsylvania PA $60,940 $25,000 debt

Indiana State University IN $60,814 —

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater WI $60,418 $21,500 debt

Grand Valley State University MI $57,039 $28,894 debt

Keene State College NH $55,424 $25,000 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians, 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