Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Academy of Careers and Technology

First-year earnings of $36,679 land below typical outcomes for nursing assistant programs in West Virginia, where the state median sits at $38,898. Several technical centers in the state—like West Virginia Junior College-Morgantown and United Technical Center—report graduates earning above $46,000 in their first year, suggesting this program trails its in-state competition by a meaningful margin. When 39% of students receive Pell grants, those lower earnings translate to harder financial starts for families who can least afford it.

The estimated debt of $11,258, based on comparable West Virginia nursing programs, produces a manageable 0.31 debt-to-earnings ratio that would theoretically allow graduates to pay off loans within a year or two of working full-time. That's the good news. The concern is whether those first-year earnings reflect temporary pandemic disruptions or indicate a pattern where graduates struggle to secure the better-paying LPN positions that typically come with these credentials. Nationally, the median first-year salary for this field reaches $44,134—nearly $7,500 more than what Academy of Careers and Technology graduates appear to be earning.

For families considering this program, the key question is whether Academy of Careers and Technology can help graduates access the higher-paying nursing positions that justify the credential, or if they're more likely to end up in lower-tier healthcare support roles. With stronger-performing programs across West Virginia, parents should ask pointed questions about job placement rates and employer partnerships before enrolling.