Fire Protection at Clover Park Technical College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.20 tells a reassuring story—even working with estimates drawn from national peer programs, this kind of financial picture suggests graduates can manage their debt load comfortably. When first-year earnings of roughly $47,000 meet student debt under $10,000, you're looking at a credential that shouldn't bury someone financially. Fire protection programs nationally cluster tightly around these figures, with three-quarters of programs producing earnings below $50,000, which suggests this certificate prepares students for entry-level work in a field where compensation follows fairly predictable patterns.

The challenge here is knowing whether Clover Park specifically delivers on this promise. With no reported data from the school itself and no Washington state comparisons available, you're evaluating this program based entirely on what similar fire protection certificates produce elsewhere. That's not necessarily a red flag—368 schools nationally offer this credential, creating a substantial comparison pool—but it does mean you can't know if Clover Park's local employer connections, equipment quality, or curriculum rigor differ meaningfully from the national average. The low Pell grant participation (18%) might suggest a student body with more financial resources, though that tells you nothing about graduate outcomes.

If your child is committed to fire service work, a certificate with manageable debt makes sense as a starting point. Just recognize you're making this investment based on what peer programs typically achieve, not on proven outcomes from this specific school.