Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Daytona College

Daytona College graduates earn roughly $24,000 a year—about $2,000 below Florida's median for medical assisting programs and nearly $3,000 below the national average. More concerning, earnings actually slip slightly by year four rather than growing, leaving graduates in their mid-twenties with little forward momentum. Among Florida's 99 programs, this lands at the 40th percentile, meaning six out of ten in-state alternatives deliver better outcomes. The state's top performers—community colleges and technical schools like Manatona Technical College and Miami Dade—produce graduates earning $10,000 more annually with similar debt loads.

The debt burden here is manageable at about $10,600, translating to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.44—not crushing, but not insignificant when your income is under $24,000. With 58% of students receiving Pell grants, many families here are counting on this credential to deliver meaningful economic mobility, and the numbers suggest it's falling short of that promise.

If your child is set on medical assisting in Florida, the data points clearly toward community colleges and technical schools that cost about the same but deliver substantially better earning power. This program isn't a financial disaster, but it's hard to justify when better-performing alternatives are readily available across the state.