Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at Burlington County Institute of Technology-Adult Education

With estimated debt of $9,500 against first-year earnings around $36,000, this automotive certificate from Burlington County Institute of Technology comes in well below typical borrowing levels for technical programs. Similar certificates in New Jersey carry median debt of $13,560, and nationally the figure reaches $11,000, so this program appears to keep costs in check—though without actual graduate data from this specific school, it's difficult to know if that holds true across all students.

The earnings estimate, based on eight comparable automotive programs across New Jersey, sits right at the state median. Top performers like Universal Technical Institute in Bloomfield push past $40,000 in first-year earnings, suggesting the field rewards either stronger training or better industry connections. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.26 looks reasonable on paper, meaning graduates could theoretically pay off their loans with about three months of gross income, but this assumes full-time employment at these estimated wage levels.

The real question is whether Burlington County's program delivers the hands-on training and employer relationships that translate peer-level earnings into actual outcomes for its graduates. With such a small Pell grant population (6%), this may serve primarily students with alternative funding sources. For families considering this path, the estimated numbers suggest a manageable financial commitment—just understand you're placing trust in a program without publicly verified graduate outcomes.