Ground Transportation at Illinois Eastern Community Colleges

Illinois Eastern's Ground Transportation certificate sits squarely in the middle of what peer programs deliver in Illinois—projected first-year earnings around $36,200 based on the state's median for similar programs. That's meaningful money for a credential that carries an estimated $5,500 in debt, creating a manageable 0.15 debt-to-earnings ratio. The concern, however, is that national data shows ground transportation programs typically produce stronger outcomes, with a median of $41,400 first-year—about $5,200 more than Illinois programs suggest for this school.

The challenge here is scale. With only 22 programs statewide offering this credential and sparse graduate counts at most schools, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what Illinois Eastern's outcomes look like. Some Illinois ground transportation programs launch graduates into $50,000+ first-year earnings at schools like Elgin and Lincoln Land, while others languish below $25,000. The estimated figures place this program somewhere in the middle, but without actual graduate data, you're betting on a statewide average rather than this school's track record.

For families comfortable with modest debt and realistic about middle-of-the-road earnings, this could work—especially if your student has concrete job connections in the logistics or transportation sector. But if stronger programs exist within commuting distance, the potential $10,000-$15,000 earnings difference in the first year alone would justify the extra effort to investigate those options.