Computer and Information Sciences at Long Beach City College

A certificate program with estimated first-year earnings around $38,900 and debt near $12,400 lands squarely in community college territory—modest investment, practical timeline. What's less clear is whether Long Beach City College's specific outcomes match the national benchmarks these figures come from, since the graduate cohort was too small for the Department of Education to publish actual data.

California's computer science certificate programs typically produce stronger results than the national average, with median earnings above $42,000 and lower debt around $9,200. If Long Beach follows that state pattern rather than the broader national one, the picture improves considerably—you'd be looking at nearly $4,000 more in annual earnings and $3,000 less in debt. That matters when you're calculating how quickly a certificate pays for itself. The 0.32 debt-to-earnings ratio based on national figures is manageable either way, representing about four months of gross income.

The real question is where this program falls within California's range. With 92 schools offering similar certificates across the state, outcomes vary widely based on local employer connections and curriculum focus. Given Long Beach's location in a major metro area with tech employers, there's reason to expect results closer to the state median than the national one—but without actual graduate data, you're making an educated guess rather than an informed decision about this specific pathway.