Air Transportation at Community College of Baltimore County

The four-year earnings trajectory tells an encouraging story here: while comparable programs nationally suggest starting salaries around $42,500, graduates from this program reach nearly $61,000 by their fourth year—a 43% jump that signals strong career progression in aviation-related roles. That kind of upward mobility matters when you're evaluating whether technical training pays off.

The estimated debt load of roughly $13,200 works out to just three months of that first-year salary, putting it well below the concerning debt-to-income thresholds that financial aid counselors warn about. Aviation programs can sometimes saddle students with flight training costs or specialized certification fees, but these figures suggest a relatively manageable financial commitment for an associate's degree that opens doors to an industry with clear advancement paths.

The challenge is that Community College of Baltimore County is the only school offering this program in Maryland, and the actual outcomes for its specific graduates remain unpublished due to small cohort sizes. You're essentially betting that this program performs similarly to the national pool of aviation associate's degrees. If your child is committed to aviation careers and wants to stay in-state, the projected debt-to-earnings picture looks reasonable—but recognize you're making that decision without verified data from this particular school's track record.