Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technology at Dorsey College-Dearborn

Dorsey College-Dearborn's electronics maintenance certificate produces some of the best early outcomes among Michigan's 14 programs in this field, placing graduates at the 60th percentile statewide. Students start with $34,629 in median earnings—essentially matching both the state and national medians—while carrying just $13,000 in debt. That 0.38 debt-to-earnings ratio means manageable payments for a population where 84% receive Pell grants, though it's worth noting that debt here runs higher than the national median of $8,709.

The troubling pattern emerges in year four, when earnings drop to $30,228—a 13% decline that reverses the typical career trajectory. For a technical field where skills should command consistent or growing wages, this backward slide suggests either high attrition from the trade, job instability, or graduates shifting into lower-paying roles. The moderate sample size provides reasonable confidence in this trend, and it's significant enough that parents should investigate what's driving it—whether it's local labor market conditions in Detroit or program-specific factors.

The upfront value is legitimate for students entering with minimal debt expectations, but the earnings trajectory transforms this from a straightforward technical credential into something more uncertain. Parents should verify that their graduate plans to stay actively employed in electronics maintenance rather than treating this as a stepping stone, since that's when the return justifies even this modest debt load.