Ground Transportation at Erwin Technical College

This program's estimated debt burden of $9,280 sits comfortably between Florida's typical $15,001 and the national median of $7,706—but the earnings picture requires closer attention. Similar ground transportation programs nationally produce median first-year earnings around $41,414, which would put Erwin Technical's certificate on par with peer institutions. However, Florida State College at Jacksonville, the only in-state program with reported data, shows actual earnings of just $34,562 for its graduates, nearly $7,000 below the national benchmark.

That $7,000 gap matters significantly when evaluating return on investment. If Erwin's outcomes track closer to Florida's reality than the national average, you're looking at graduates earning roughly $35,000 while carrying nearly $10,000 in debt—a less compelling picture than the national estimates suggest. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.22 assumes the higher national figure holds true; if actual earnings land closer to the Florida benchmark, that ratio climbs to nearly 0.27, still manageable but requiring about 16 weeks of gross income to clear the debt rather than 11.

The fundamental challenge here is making a financial commitment based entirely on proxy data. For a parent weighing this certificate, the safest assumption is that outcomes will mirror Florida's documented reality rather than optimistic national averages. At that more conservative projection, the program remains financially viable—the debt won't cripple anyone—but the margin for error narrows considerably.