Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at Greenville Technical College

Greenville Technical College's Business Operations program shows first-year graduates earning well—$35,672 puts them in the top 20% among similar South Carolina programs. The concern? Earnings drop sharply to $27,956 by year four, a 22% decline that's unusual for any career path. The debt load of $31,500 is also higher than typical for community college programs, nearly double the state median of $18,195.

The small sample size here matters. With fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset, these numbers might reflect just a few students' experiences rather than a reliable pattern. That said, the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.88 means graduates start with debt nearly equal to their first-year salary—manageable initially, but the earnings decline makes repayment tougher over time. For context, similar programs at Tri-County and Piedmont Technical College show more stable earnings trajectories with substantially less debt.

If your child is considering this program, the high debt relative to other South Carolina community colleges should prompt questions about financial aid packaging and whether they can minimize borrowing. The earnings decline could reflect graduates moving into part-time work or career changes, but without knowing why, it's hard to assess whether this pattern would apply to your student.