Special Education and Teaching at New Mexico State University-Main Campus

New Mexico State's Special Education program shows a troubling start—first-year earnings of just $32,000 place it in the 5th percentile nationally—but the trajectory tells a more nuanced story. By year four, graduates reach $46,000, which still lags the national median but sits near the middle of New Mexico's options (40th percentile statewide). The concerning part? Debt levels rank in the 95th percentile nationally, meaning graduates owe more than 95% of their peers elsewhere, even though the $19,000 figure itself isn't catastrophic.

Here's the practical calculation: with a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.59, graduates face roughly seven months of their first-year salary in debt—manageable but tight given teacher starting salaries. The 44% earnings jump from year one to year four suggests the program eventually delivers, though you're looking at UNM-Albuquerque producing graduates who earn $42,000 right out of the gate, nearly matching NMSU's four-year mark.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could swing considerably year to year. If your child is committed to special education in New Mexico and values staying in Las Cruces, this works—the debt is reasonable and the career path stabilizes quickly. But if flexibility exists, comparing job placement rates and student teaching partnerships between NMSU and UNM would be worth the effort, given UNM's stronger early earnings.