Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Florida Career College-Jacksonville

Something is deeply wrong here. Florida Career College-Jacksonville's LPN certificate leads to earnings of just $22,247—barely above minimum wage and less than half what the typical Florida LPN program delivers ($40,922). Even more troubling, earnings actually decline by year four. This ranks in the bottom 10% of Florida nursing programs, despite being in Jacksonville where Florida State College's nursing program achieves $57,579 for its graduates.

The modest debt load ($9,861) might seem manageable, but it's relative to earnings so low that graduates may struggle to afford basic living expenses, let alone loan payments. With 74% of students receiving Pell grants, this program is enrolling Florida's most financially vulnerable students and leaving them with credentials that don't appear to lead to viable LPN employment. For context, the state median for this same credential is nearly double these earnings.

This is a red flag situation. Other Jacksonville-area and Florida programs demonstrate that nursing credentials can deliver strong returns—this program is a stark outlier. Parents should seriously consider Florida State College at Jacksonville or other state technical colleges where LPN graduates actually earn professional-level salaries. The difference between $22,000 and $57,000 annually compounds dramatically over a career and represents the gap between financial security and financial stress.