Computer Programming at Beaufort County Community College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.30 suggests manageable repayment—assuming the estimated figures hold true for Beaufort County's graduates. Based on comparable programming certificate programs nationally, first-year earnings around $43,700 with roughly $13,300 in debt would mean monthly payments consuming about 8-10% of take-home pay. That's workable math. But here's the catch: this estimate comes from just five national programs, and there's no reported data from any of North Carolina's nine programming certificate programs to verify whether these figures reflect the state's job market reality.

The concerning gap is location. Washington, NC is a small coastal town, and programming jobs typically cluster in metro areas like Raleigh-Durham or Charlotte. Graduates might need to relocate or accept remote positions to hit that $43,700 mark, which adds complexity the estimate doesn't capture. The national median also masks significant variation—top programs nationally see first-year earnings above $60,000, suggesting that program quality and local employer relationships matter enormously in this field.

Before committing, your child needs to talk to recent graduates directly—not the admissions office—about actual job placement and starting salaries. Given the 31% Pell grant rate, many students here are betting on modest debt leading to career transformation. That can work, but only if the local or remote job market cooperates. Without verified outcomes data for this specific program or even state peers, you're making this investment somewhat blind.