Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians at Olympic College

The estimated $9,400 in debt for this certificate program sits below the national median of about $12,000, which matters when you're looking at first-year earnings around $38,800. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.24 suggests the certificate could be manageable financially—you'd owe roughly three months of salary, assuming full-time work in the field. However, these figures come from peer programs nationally since Olympic College's graduate cohort is too small for the Department of Education to publish actual outcomes.

The catch is that electrical engineering technology programs show wide variance nationally, with top performers reaching $57,400 in first-year earnings. Whether Olympic College's specific program lands closer to that upper range or stays near the median of $38,800 depends on factors these estimates can't capture—local industry connections in the Bremerton area, lab equipment quality, and placement support. The Puget Sound region has shipyards and naval facilities that could provide opportunities, but we can't verify how well this particular program connects students to those employers.

For a short-term credential, the estimated debt load is reasonable enough that if your child is mechanically inclined and wants to avoid a four-year degree, this could work. Just recognize you're making the decision with limited visibility into this specific program's track record—talk directly with the department about where recent graduates actually landed jobs and what they're earning.