Special Education and Teaching at Chadron State College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.59 suggests this program falls within reasonable bounds for an education degree, though both figures come from national peer programs rather than Chadron State's actual graduate outcomes. Special education teachers typically see steady employment with relatively compressed salary ranges, so while similar programs nationally produce first-year earnings around $44,139, the narrow spread between the 50th and 75th percentile nationally ($44,139 to $48,263) indicates there's limited upside even for top performers.

The estimated $26,023 debt load is slightly below the national median for this field and would require roughly seven months of gross first-year salary to pay off—manageable for a profession with strong job security. However, Nebraska's median for special education programs sits lower at $42,508, and when you look at reported outcomes from UNL ($47,017) and UNO ($37,998), you see a $9,000 range even within the state. Without actual data from Chadron State, it's unclear where their graduates land in that spectrum.

The practical issue here is that special education teaching salaries are largely determined by local school district pay scales, not the college on your degree. If your child plans to teach in Nebraska, investigate starting salaries in their target districts—that matters far more than the estimated national figures. The debt level appears workable, but you're making this decision somewhat blind without knowing how Chadron State's specific graduates perform in the job market.