Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at National Polytechnic College

The 4-year earnings figure of $36,902 raises immediate questions about this program's trajectory. While comparable nursing certificates nationally suggest first-year earnings around $66,398, seeing income drop by nearly half after three additional years is highly unusual—especially when California's nursing programs typically produce $95,982 in first-year earnings. Either this specific program's outcomes diverge sharply from peer institutions, or the small sample size behind these suppressed figures is creating misleading snapshots.

The debt picture appears manageable at an estimated $25,881, yielding a 0.39 debt-to-earnings ratio if the national first-year benchmark holds. That's reasonable for a healthcare credential. But that calculation assumes you'll see the typical nursing certificate outcomes—and the 4-year data suggests graduates here may not be following the standard nursing career path. California nursing programs at schools like Glendale Career College and Cabrillo College produce earnings well into six figures, more than double what appears here even in year one.

Before committing, you need to understand why this program's multi-year earnings data looks so different from state and national patterns. The suppressed sample sizes mean we're working with limited visibility, but when a four-year number falls this far below typical first-year nursing wages in California, that's a red flag worth investigating directly with the school about graduate outcomes and employment patterns.