Location: Hopkinsville, KY•In-State Tuition: $4,656•Out-of-State Tuition: $6,192
Est. Earnings (1yr)
$41,824
Est. from KY median (10 programs)
Est. Median Debt
$8,345
Est. from KY median (10 programs)

Analysis

Is borrowing $8,345 for a certificate worth it when peer programs in Kentucky suggest you'll earn around $42,000 in your first year? The math works—a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.20 means you'd owe about two months' salary, which is manageable territory for a credential you can likely complete in a year or less. Similar precision metal working programs across Kentucky produce a median salary right at that $41,824 mark, putting these estimates on solid footing.

What's harder to predict is your ceiling. The state's top-performing programs—Southcentral Kentucky CTC and Elizabethtown CTC—report first-year earnings topping $50,000, suggesting that where you train and which employers recruit from your program matter considerably. Hopkinsville's small graduate cohort (too few for the DOE to publish outcomes) makes it impossible to know whether this program connects students to those higher-paying opportunities or sits closer to the middle of the pack.

For a working-class student looking to enter manufacturing quickly, the low debt load keeps this a low-risk bet. Just recognize you're betting on estimates, not track record. If possible, talk to local manufacturers about where they hire their machinists—that's the intelligence that could tell you whether Hopkinsville's program delivers on the Kentucky average or falls short.

Where Hopkinsville Community College Stands

Earnings vs. debt across all precision metal working certificate's programs nationally

Hopkinsville Community College (estimated ±10%)Other precision metal working programs

Dashed lines show national medians. Upper-left = best value.

Compare to Similar Programs in Kentucky

Precision Metal Working certificate's programs at peer institutions in Kentucky (17 total in state)

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SchoolIn-State TuitionEarnings (1yr)*Earnings (4yr)Median Debt*Debt/Earnings
Hopkinsville Community CollegeHopkinsville$4,656$41,824*—$8,345*—
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical CollegeBowling Green$4,656$58,996*—$9,413*0.16
Elizabethtown Community and Technical CollegeElizabethtown$4,656$53,172*—$7,166*0.13
Bluegrass Community and Technical CollegeLexington$4,706$46,133*—$10,684*0.23
Owensboro Community and Technical CollegeOwensboro$4,656$45,366*—$7,475*0.16
Gateway Community and Technical CollegeFlorence$4,656$42,233*—$9,041*0.21
National Median—$36,248*—$9,000*0.25
* Estimated from similar programs

Career Paths

Occupations commonly associated with precision metal working graduates

Sheet Metal Workers

Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.

$60,850/yrJobs growth:High school diploma or equivalent

Machinists

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.

$57,700/yrJobs growth:

Tool and Die Makers

Analyze specifications, lay out metal stock, set up and operate machine tools, and fit and assemble parts to make and repair dies, cutting tools, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and machinists' hand tools.

$57,700/yrJobs growth:

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.

$51,000/yrJobs growth:High school diploma or equivalent

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:

Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:

Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic forming bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate, or to flatten, temper, or reduce gauge of material.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:

Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:

Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend grinding and related tools that remove excess material or burrs from surfaces, sharpen edges or corners, or buff, hone, or polish metal or plastic work pieces.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:

Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend lathe and turning machines to turn, bore, thread, form, or face metal or plastic materials, such as wire, rod, or bar stock.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:

Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.

$46,800/yrJobs growth:
About This Data

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (October 2025 release)

Population: Graduates who received federal financial aid (Title IV grants or loans). At Hopkinsville Community College, approximately 43% of students receive Pell grants. Students who did not receive federal aid are not included in these figures.

Earnings: Median earnings from IRS W-2 data for graduates who are employed and not enrolled in further education, measured 1 year after completion. Earnings are pre-tax and include wages, salaries, and self-employment income.

Debt: Median cumulative federal loan debt at graduation. Does not include private loans or Parent PLUS loans borrowed on behalf of students.

Estimated Earnings: Actual earnings data is not available for this program (typically due to privacy thresholds when fewer than 30 graduates reported earnings). The estimate shown is based on the median of 10 similar programs in KY. Actual outcomes may vary.