Electrical and Power Transmission Installers at Bladen Community College

The stark difference between North Carolina's typical outcomes and national figures reveals something important about this program. While similar electrical programs across the state produce a median salary of $57,134—and Richmond Community College's graduates earn nearly $74,000—this program's estimated $44,727 aligns with the national median, suggesting it may not be tapping into North Carolina's stronger regional market for electrical work. That $12,000 gap between state and national outcomes is meaningful when you're looking at first-year earnings.

That said, the debt picture based on comparable programs at Bladen looks manageable. An estimated $12,000 in loans against $44,727 in earnings creates a ratio of 0.27, which is well below the concerning 1.0 threshold. Even if actual earnings fall short of the state median, graduates would still be entering a field where they can reasonably handle their debt burden. The fact that two-thirds of students receive Pell grants suggests the college serves students who may have limited alternatives and for whom a technical credential with this debt load could still represent mobility.

The question is whether Bladen's program connects graduates to the higher-paying opportunities that clearly exist in North Carolina's electrical sector. Before committing, your student should investigate where recent graduates have actually landed jobs and whether those employers pay closer to the state's $57,000 median or the national $45,000 figure this estimate reflects.