Business Administration, Management and Operations at Lakeshore Technical College

At nearly $40,000 in starting earnings with just over $13,000 in debt, this program offers a debt load you could theoretically pay off in four months of gross income—a fundamentally sound financial position. The catch? These numbers come from a very small graduating class, making them less reliable as predictors of what your student might actually earn.

The earnings picture tells an interesting story about Wisconsin's technical college system. Lakeshore students start lower than the state median of $40,482, and they're significantly behind the top performers like Mid-State ($47,268) and Moraine Park ($46,719). Yet they're still outearning 74% of similar programs nationwide, benefiting from Wisconsin's generally strong technical college outcomes. The flat earnings trajectory—barely budging from year one to year four—suggests this program leads to steady but not rapidly advancing positions.

With the small sample caveat looming large, this looks financially viable but not exceptional within Wisconsin. If your student has access to one of the higher-performing technical colleges in the state, those would be worth considering first. But if location or other factors make Lakeshore the practical choice, the debt burden won't be crushing, and the starting salary beats national norms even if it lags within Wisconsin.