Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at Montana State University-Northern

A debt load around $9,500 for a credential in automotive technology represents a manageable starting point—the estimated debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.26 means graduates would owe roughly three months' salary. Based on comparable programs nationally, first-year earnings of $35,905 sit right at the median for this field, which suggests Montana State-Northern's program performs about where you'd expect for vocational automotive training.

The challenge here is context: with no reported outcomes from Montana State-Northern itself and limited data from the seven other Montana programs, these estimates rest entirely on what similar automotive certificates produce nationally. The field itself shows modest but stable earnings—the top quarter of programs nationally only reach $40,190, so there's not much upside even at well-performing schools. Automotive technology tends to offer steady employment rather than dramatic income growth, which makes the low debt particularly important.

For a student certain about automotive repair as a career, this debt level won't become a burden on typical technician wages. But the lack of actual outcomes data means you're betting on MSU-Northern's program quality and local job market without hard evidence. If your student has other automotive certificate options in Montana where you can see real graduate earnings, those might offer more certainty about what they're paying for.