Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at George C Wallace State Community College-Selma

At George C. Wallace State Community College-Selma, practical nursing graduates face a challenging earnings picture, even accounting for the small sample size. With first-year earnings of $41,533, graduates trail both the Alabama median ($45,668) and national average ($44,134) by roughly $3,000-$4,000. More concerning, this places the program in just the 40th percentile statewide—meaning 60% of Alabama's nursing certificate programs produce better early outcomes, including several community colleges that deliver earnings above $50,000.

The debt load of $16,000 isn't catastrophic (resulting in a manageable 0.39 debt-to-earnings ratio), but it's slightly above both state and national medians despite the lower earnings. Graduates will have their loans paid down faster than many peers nationally, but they're starting from a lower income baseline. The gap widens when you compare to top performers: Chattahoochee Valley graduates earn $63,335—more than 50% higher than Wallace-Selma's figure.

For families in Alabama's Black Belt region where Wallace-Selma serves, this program provides local access to nursing credentials that can lead to stable work. However, parents should understand their graduate will likely earn less initially than peers from other Alabama programs, and the small sample makes it hard to know if these numbers represent a consistent pattern or just a rough year of data.