Communication and Media Studies at Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte

A $28,000 starting salary against $25,000 in debt creates an immediate financial squeeze that's hard to justify, even for a communications degree. While this program sits at the 40th percentile among North Carolina communications programs—essentially middle-of-the-pack in-state—it falls to the 15th percentile nationally, meaning 85% of similar programs produce better earnings outcomes. The debt load itself isn't unusual for this field, but when paired with earnings $6,000 below even the NC state median, the numbers become problematic.

Context matters here: North Carolina offers significantly stronger alternatives at comparable or lower costs. NC State graduates earn $11,800 more their first year out, while Appalachian State grads make $10,000 more—both public universities with lower sticker prices for in-state students. Even accounting for Johnson & Wales' 52% Pell grant population, which often correlates with lower initial earnings, this gap is substantial.

For families considering this program, the math suggests looking elsewhere in North Carolina first. A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.90 means your child would owe nearly a full year's salary before taxes—a difficult starting position for any career, but particularly challenging in communications fields where networking and unpaid internships often matter as much as that first paycheck.