Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions at Florence-Darlington Technical College

Peer programs nationally suggest an estimated $48,000 in first-year earnings for this credential, paired with roughly $20,000 in debt from Florence-Darlington Technical College—numbers that initially look manageable with a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.41. That's better than many healthcare credentials at the associate level, where students often accumulate significantly more debt for similar starting salaries. However, the modest earnings figure deserves scrutiny: medical laboratory technicians occupy a middle tier in healthcare pay, and these estimates reflect programs where graduates often need additional certification to maximize their earning potential.

The challenge here is visibility. With nearly half of Florence-Darlington's students receiving Pell grants, this program serves a population that needs certainty about outcomes, yet both the earnings and debt figures are extrapolated from other schools' data. Among the 341 programs nationally offering this credential, many report actual outcomes—but this one doesn't, making it impossible to know whether Florence-Darlington's specific training produces better or worse results than the national median. Similar programs in South Carolina range widely in quality and outcomes, and without program-specific data, you're essentially betting on the average.

If your child is passionate about laboratory science and values job stability in healthcare, the estimated debt load isn't crushing—but confirm what certifications graduates typically pursue and whether the program's pass rates justify enrollment over schools with transparent outcomes.