Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions at Bates Technical College

Drawing from nine comparable allied health programs across Washington, this associate's degree appears positioned in competitive territory—with estimated first-year earnings of $62,420 representing the state median and exceeding the national benchmark by $8,000. That's a meaningful advantage over most programs nationwide. The estimated debt load of roughly $20,000 creates a manageable 0.32 debt-to-earnings ratio, suggesting graduates could reasonably tackle their loans while building careers in diagnostic or treatment roles.

However, the estimation here matters more than usual because allied health is an umbrella term covering everything from radiologic technology to respiratory therapy—fields with vastly different earning trajectories. While Washington's state median suggests solid outcomes, Bates appears to trail community colleges like Tacoma and Columbia Basin that report actual earnings in the $64,000-$73,000 range for their graduates. Without knowing which specific specialization this program emphasizes, you're essentially betting that Bates trains students for the higher-earning concentrations within allied health rather than the lower ones.

The safer move: confirm exactly which certification or license this program prepares students for, then check job postings in the Tacoma area for those specific credentials. If it's a field with genuine demand and the program has strong clinical placement relationships, the numbers could work. If the specialization is unclear or the program lacks established healthcare partnerships, you're taking on risk that the estimates don't capture.