Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Mott Community College

Looking at practical nursing programs across Michigan, there's a striking range in what graduates earn—from around $44,000 to over $75,000 at top-performing schools. Mott's program likely falls near the state median of $44,383, which means first-year nurses from similar programs in Michigan are earning just enough to manage the typical $16,091 in debt. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.36 is manageable but not exceptional—you'd expect to spend roughly four months of gross income paying off loans, assuming aggressive repayment.

The challenge here is that we're working entirely with estimates based on peer programs since Mott's graduate sample is too small for the DOE to publish actual outcomes. What we do know is that Michigan's practical nursing field shows considerable variation in results. Schools like Schoolcraft and Gogebic are producing graduates who earn 40-70% more in their first year, suggesting that program quality, clinical connections, or regional job markets make a real difference. Without knowing where Mott's actual graduates land in that range, you're essentially betting that this program performs at least as well as the typical Michigan LPN program.

For families in Flint where healthcare jobs may be more accessible than in some fields, practical nursing offers relatively quick entry to stable work. The estimated debt load won't be crushing, but given the wide performance gap among Michigan programs, you'd want concrete placement rates and employer relationships before committing—especially since several Michigan schools are demonstrably producing stronger earning outcomes.