Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at Lake Superior College

Lake Superior College's auto tech program gets you working quickly—$47,206 after one year with manageable debt of $19,441—but there's a catch worth understanding. While this beats the national median by about $4,300, it trails Minnesota's typical outcomes by $4,000. That's significant because Minnesota has unusually strong auto tech programs: the top schools in the state see graduates earning $57,000-$65,000 right out of the gate. At 40th percentile statewide, this program sits in the bottom half among Minnesota options.

The positive side? That debt load ranks in the 9th percentile nationally—meaning 91% of similar programs leave students with more debt. The 0.41 debt-to-earnings ratio is reasonable for a technical program, and you're looking at about five months of gross salary to cover what you borrowed. For students committed to staying in Duluth or the Iron Range, where Lake Superior has strong employer relationships, this could work fine.

If your child can access programs like Alexandria Technical or Hennepin Technical (both within Minnesota's state system), those deliver substantially higher earnings with similar debt loads. The small sample size here is also a yellow flag—outcomes could vary more than at larger programs. But for students who need to stay local or who value Lake Superior's specific setting, this represents a functional path into a stable trade, even if it's not Minnesota's strongest option.