Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at New England Institute of Technology

New England Institute of Technology's automotive program produces graduates earning about $7,000 below the national median for this field in their first year—a significant gap that puts them in just the 31st percentile nationally. However, there's an important catch: this is the only associate's-level automotive program in Rhode Island reporting outcomes data, making it difficult to compare against local alternatives. The $13,762 in median debt is reasonable, translating to a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.35, though graduates will spend their first few years catching up to peers at stronger programs elsewhere.

The 18% earnings growth from year one to year four suggests graduates do improve their position over time, reaching $46,114 by the four-year mark. That's closer to the national median and represents solid progression in a field where experience typically leads to better-paying diagnostic and specialty work. Still, starting nearly $7,000 behind the national average means your child would be playing catch-up for several years, and even after four years, they'd still be earning less than what graduates from top programs make immediately.

For a Rhode Island family committed to staying local, this program offers accessible training with manageable debt. But if your child could attend a stronger automotive program in neighboring Massachusetts or Connecticut—even at slightly higher cost—the earnings advantage would likely outweigh the difference within a few years. The debt load is low enough that this won't be financially devastating, but it's worth asking whether the convenience of staying in-state is worth the earnings trade-off.