Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians at California State University-Long Beach

Starting salaries of $57,069 place this program well below what most California engineering technology graduates earn—the state median sits at $68,105, and nearby Cal Poly Pomona graduates start at $68,815. While debt is estimated based on Cal State Long Beach's typical borrowing patterns (around $26,220), the 0.46 debt-to-earnings ratio itself isn't alarming. The real concern is whether these lower starting salaries reflect program quality, local employment opportunities, or simply the industries graduates enter.

The 31% earnings growth to $74,802 by year four suggests decent momentum, but you're still playing catch-up to peers who started $10,000-$15,000 ahead. For a campus serving nearly half Pell-eligible students, this program may succeed at providing access to technical careers, but it's not delivering the premium outcomes that Cal State Chico manages ($77,965 first-year) with similar students. The actual debt load for this specific cohort could be higher or lower than estimates suggest—Cal State Long Beach doesn't report it because too few students graduated to publish data.

For families weighing this investment: demand concrete answers about recent graduate employment and typical debt before committing. The estimated numbers suggest manageable debt paired with below-market earnings, but you're making decisions on incomplete information. If stronger Cal State options like Pomona or Chico are accessible, the earnings gap justifies serious consideration of those alternatives.