Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Lanier Technical College

The small sample size here demands caution, but the pattern is troubling: Lanier Tech graduates start at $29,881—roughly $12,000 below Georgia's median for practical nursing programs and $14,000 below the national benchmark. Among Georgia's 26 nursing programs, this lands in just the 25th percentile, meaning three-quarters of comparable programs produce better first-year outcomes. The debt load of $13,557 isn't catastrophic, but when paired with those initial earnings, new grads face a debt-to-income ratio of 0.45—manageable but not comfortable for someone likely starting night shifts at $29,000.

The 40% earnings growth to $41,823 by year four suggests graduates eventually find their footing, but even that four-year mark trails the state median. Compare this to top Georgia performers like Augusta Tech ($51,024) or Georgia Piedmont ($48,045), where graduates start $18,000-$21,000 ahead. For practical nursing, those early earnings matter enormously—they determine whether you can cover bills during those first challenging years in the field.

With fewer than 30 graduates in this data, these numbers might not reflect typical outcomes. But parents should ask pointed questions: Why do peer programs in Georgia consistently produce stronger initial placements? Until this program can demonstrate better early-career results, Georgia families have stronger in-state options that deliver $15,000+ more in first-year earning power.