Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies at Johnson County Community College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.17 signals strong financial positioning—based on comparable heavy equipment programs nationally, graduates typically earn around $50,500 in their first year while carrying roughly $8,800 in debt. That's manageable by any standard, with borrowers able to dedicate less than a fifth of their first-year income to debt if needed. For technical training that leads directly into Kansas's manufacturing and agricultural equipment sectors, this represents a comparatively low-risk investment.

The challenge here is visibility. With only five schools in Kansas offering this credential and suppressed outcomes data across the state, parents are working with estimates drawn from national peer programs rather than tracked results from Johnson County grads themselves. The national benchmark suggests solid starting wages—$50,500 puts graduates in the middle of the pack nationally, with top programs reaching the mid-$50,000s—but without local data, it's harder to know whether Kansas's specific labor market for heavy equipment technicians matches that pattern or exceeds it given the state's agricultural and industrial base.

The practical takeaway: if your child has mechanical aptitude and interest in equipment repair, the estimated debt burden appears reasonable against typical earnings in this field. However, you'll want to verify current job placement rates and starting wages directly with the program, since the federal data can't confirm what's actually happening with Johnson County's graduates specifically.