Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods at Ivy Tech Community College

This program performs better than you might expect for Indiana—it actually matches the state median for teacher education certificates, landing at the 60th percentile statewide. However, with fewer than 30 graduates tracked, these numbers could shift dramatically with a larger sample, and the national comparison is less encouraging at just the 38th percentile.

The real concern isn't the modest starting salary of $26,304 or the manageable $15,000 in debt—it's that earnings drop 10% by year four, falling to $23,714. This backward trajectory suggests graduates may be taking paraprofessional or substitute teaching roles rather than progressing into full teaching positions with regular salary increases. For a certificate program designed as a stepping stone into education careers, this earnings decline raises questions about whether it's opening the right doors.

Given the small sample size, these outcomes could be influenced by just a handful of graduates' experiences. If your child is considering this path, treat it as exploratory data rather than definitive evidence. The debt load is reasonable enough that it won't be crushing if the certificate doesn't lead where intended, but make sure you understand what specific teaching roles this credential actually qualifies for in Indiana's school districts.