Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technology at Onondaga Community College

Nationally, similar electrical/electronics maintenance programs typically produce first-year earnings around $45,300, putting this field in a solid position among technical associate's degrees. Onondaga's program likely follows this pattern, though without school-specific data, we're relying on what peer programs show. What matters here is the broader picture: electrical maintenance technicians generally find steady work, and the estimated $12,000 in debt—lower than the national median of nearly $15,000—creates manageable monthly payments on those starting wages. That 0.26 debt-to-earnings ratio means roughly three months of gross pay to cover the entire credential.

The one wrinkle is that New York's median for this field sits noticeably lower at $38,300, based on actual outcomes from 11 programs statewide. Erie and Mohawk Valley community colleges, for instance, report graduates earning $37,400-$39,200—substantially below the national figure. This gap suggests regional wage differences or possibly that New York grads work in lower-paying sectors of the electronics field. If your student plans to stay in central New York, those actual state figures are more relevant than the national benchmark.

For anxious parents, the key question is whether technical maintenance work appeals to your child—this isn't a stepping stone to engineering but a direct path to hands-on repair careers. If they're mechanically inclined and want stable employment without bachelor's-level debt, the numbers work, especially with that relatively modest borrowing. Just temper expectations using New York's actual wage data rather than national estimates.