Fire Protection at Frontier Community College

The numbers here tell a puzzling story. While comparable fire protection programs across Illinois produce median earnings of $77,935, this national estimate of $47,024 falls dramatically short—a gap of more than $30,000. Even the top national programs cluster around $50,000, suggesting this estimate may not capture what Illinois fire protection graduates actually earn. The debt picture looks manageable at an estimated $9,557, yielding a healthy 0.20 debt-to-earnings ratio if those income figures hold true. But with only 8% of students receiving Pell grants at Frontier, this appears to be a program drawing mostly from families who can pay out of pocket.

The disconnect between state and national benchmarks matters significantly here. Fire protection is a field where local hiring, union contracts, and municipal budgets drive salaries. Illinois firefighters may command substantially higher wages than the national average suggests, but without actual graduate outcomes from Frontier specifically, you're betting on a state pattern rather than proven results. If this program feeds into Illinois fire departments and achieves outcomes closer to Southwestern Illinois College's $77,935 figure, it's an excellent investment. If graduates face the national median instead, the value proposition weakens considerably. Before committing, contact Frontier directly about their actual graduate outcomes and job placement rates with local fire departments—the difference between these scenarios is literally your child's ability to build financial stability in their first years of work.