Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at College of the Canyons

Looking at similar automotive programs across California, graduates typically earn around $36,000 in their first year—a modest start, though well below what the state's higher-performing vocational programs achieve. West Los Angeles College and several San Joaquin Valley locations are pushing their automotive graduates above $50,000, even $65,000 in one case, suggesting that location, employer networks, or curriculum differences create substantial earning variations in this field.

The estimated debt load of $9,500 keeps the financial risk manageable, with a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.27 meaning graduates would owe roughly a quarter of their first-year income. For a certificate program, that's reasonable—you're not accumulating four-year bachelor's degree debt. However, those first-year earnings sit right at California's median for automotive programs, neither standing out nor falling behind. Nationally, the pattern holds: this is middle-of-the-pack territory, not a pathway to exceptional early returns.

The uncertainty here matters. Without actual graduate outcomes from College of the Canyons, you're making decisions based on state averages rather than this school's specific track record with employer placement or advanced training quality. If your child is set on automotive work, push the school for details on job placement rates, which shops hire their graduates, and whether those relationships translate to higher starting wages than the state median suggests.