Health and Physical Education/Fitness at Northwestern State University of Louisiana

Northwestern State's Health and Physical Education program sits exactly at Louisiana's median for first-year earnings at $28,009, placing it in the 60th percentile statewide—a respectable middle-of-the-pack position among the state's 10 programs. However, that starting salary trails both LSU ($31,956) and Louisiana Tech ($31,802) by roughly $4,000 annually. The good news is steady earnings growth: graduates see a 32% increase to $36,919 by year four, eventually pulling ahead of the national median. The debt load of $24,000 is manageable, with a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.86 that's better than many education-focused programs.

The real caveat here is the small sample size—fewer than 30 graduates reported data, which means one or two outliers could significantly skew these numbers either way. That limitation makes it harder to confidently predict your child's likely outcome. The program serves a primarily in-state population at an open-admission university, and while outcomes aren't spectacular, they're broadly in line with what most Louisiana schools deliver for this field.

If your child is committed to teaching PE or working in fitness in Louisiana, this program won't leave them drowning in debt, and the earnings trajectory shows steady improvement. Just understand that education and fitness careers typically mean modest starting salaries, and Northwestern State's outcomes reflect that reality rather than exceeding it.