Dental Support Services and Allied Professions at Concorde Career College-Garden Grove

Concorde Career College-Garden Grove graduates earn impressively right out of the gate—$72,160 puts them near the top nationally for dental support programs. But there's a significant catch: those earnings drop to $58,230 by year four, a 19% decline that's unusual for this field. While the first-year numbers place this program in the 95th percentile nationally, it sits at the 60th percentile among California programs, where the bar is substantially higher (the state median is $70,541 versus $55,016 nationally).

The debt picture adds to the complexity. At $29,176, graduates pay roughly $3,000 more than the California median for this program, though the 0.40 debt-to-earnings ratio based on that strong first-year salary is manageable. The real question is why earnings fall so sharply—this could signal graduates starting in higher-paying temporary positions, working reduced hours as they gain experience, or facing a competitive California market where initial placements don't hold.

For parents, this program gets your child earning solid money quickly, but those early numbers may not tell the full story. The debt is reasonable if that first-year salary materializes, but the earnings trajectory suggests this may not be the stable, growing career path typically associated with dental support roles. Other California programs show more consistent earnings without the same decline pattern.