Fire Protection at Lorain County Community College

Lorain County Community College's Fire Protection associate degree carries an estimated $10,370 in debt against first-year earnings around $56,000—a manageable 0.19 debt-to-earnings ratio based on peer programs nationally. However, this national benchmark tells only part of the story. Ohio's fire protection programs typically produce significantly stronger outcomes: Cincinnati State's graduates, for example, report median earnings of $91,944, and the state median debt sits at just $6,125. That $36,000 earnings gap between what similar national programs produce and what Ohio programs deliver suggests you should investigate why this particular program's trajectory might differ.

The lower debt estimate is encouraging—it's actually below the national median for fire protection programs—but the earnings figure deserves scrutiny. Fire protection careers in Ohio clearly support solid middle-class incomes, yet these estimated earnings fall well short of state norms. This could reflect the small graduate cohort making direct outcomes unavailable, or it might indicate differences in program design, employer connections, or the mix of firefighting versus fire science career paths students pursue. Given that 27% of Lorain County students receive Pell grants, affordability matters, but so does earning potential.

Before committing, find out where recent graduates actually work and what they're earning. The gap between estimated and state-typical outcomes is too large to ignore, and in a field with clear Ohio employment opportunities, you want confidence that this specific program connects students to those better-paying positions.