Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Holmes Community College

Holmes Community College's nursing program graduates earn $67,054 in their first year—solid money that matches Mississippi's median for nursing programs and gets graduates working quickly. But here's the concern: by year four, earnings drop to $58,722, a decline of 12%. This backward trajectory is unusual for nursing, where experience typically increases earning power. It could reflect graduates changing practice settings, reducing hours, or leaving direct patient care roles, but it warrants a closer look at career paths for Holmes graduates.

The debt picture adds complexity. At $23,000, graduates carry about $6,000 more than the state median for nursing programs and roughly $2,000 above the national benchmark. That's not catastrophic—the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.34 means less than four months of first-year salary covers the total debt—but competing Mississippi programs like Mississippi Delta and Southwest offer both higher earnings and typically lower debt. Holmes ranks in the 60th percentile among state nursing programs, meaning it's middle-of-the-pack when students could potentially access stronger options in-state.

For families watching every dollar, this program gets your child credentialed and working at a decent starting salary. But the combination of declining earnings and higher-than-average debt for Mississippi suggests investigating why graduates don't maintain that initial momentum and whether nearby alternatives might offer better long-term returns.