Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions at Columbia Basin College

Columbia Basin College's allied health program produces graduates earning $64,223 in their first year—placing it well above the national median of $54,327 for similar programs and at a competitive level among Washington's 17 offerings. With debt estimated around $20,000 based on comparable programs at this community college, that's roughly four months of first-year earnings, a manageable starting point for allied health careers.

What deserves scrutiny, though, is the earnings trajectory. While peer programs in this field typically show growth as graduates gain credentials and experience, earnings here appear flat between years one and four. This could reflect differences in the specific allied health concentration at Columbia Basin versus other schools, or it might suggest that graduates are reaching their earning potential quickly without much room for advancement. Programs at Bellevue College and Tacoma Community College show considerably higher outcomes—$79,877 and $73,435 respectively—though we can't know from available data whether those differences stem from program quality, local job markets, or the specific allied health specialties offered.

For a parent evaluating this investment: the debt-to-earnings picture based on similar programs looks reasonable, but the lack of earnings growth and the performance gap compared to top Washington programs warrants direct questions to the school about what allied health specialties their graduates actually enter and what their longer-term career paths look like.