---
title: Is a Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?
cip: 4706
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 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians degree worth the debt?

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

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $52,980 ($54,661 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,662 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.40× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $47,455–$58,924 — 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 | $32,077 | $12,000 | 0.35× | 231 | 231/231 |
| Associate's | $37,176 | $12,000 | 0.31× | 184 | 184/184 |
| Bachelor's | $52,980 | $22,662 | 0.40× | 8 | 8/8 |

## Where a 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach (FL) | $65,961 | $22,662 |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide (FL) | $65,961 | $22,662 |
| Montana State University-Northern (MT) | $56,578 | — |
| Utah State University (UT) | $54,341 | — |
| Western Michigan University (MI) | $51,618 | $26,000 |
| Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (IL) | $49,024 | — |
| SUNY Morrisville (NY) | $42,748 | $19,500 |
| Moody Bible Institute (IL) | $34,242 | — |

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/vehicle-maintenance-and-repair-technologies-technicians.jsonld` · `/education/fields/vehicle-maintenance-and-repair-technologies-technicians.json`