Forestry at Pennsylvania College of Technology

Pennsylvania College of Technology's forestry program produces graduates who earn $36,719 their first year—placing them in the 95th percentile nationally among associate-level forestry programs. That's a remarkable ranking, though it comes with an important caveat: the sample size is small, with fewer than 30 recent graduates tracked. Still, the numbers tell an encouraging story. At $12,000 in median debt, graduates face a debt-to-earnings ratio of just 0.33, meaning they'd owe roughly four months of salary. That's manageable by any measure, especially in a field where workers typically start outdoors and build specialized skills over time.

The state percentile of 60th is less impressive but somewhat misleading—Penn College is currently the only school in Pennsylvania offering an associate's degree in forestry, so that comparison reflects broader national data applied to the state. What matters more is that these earnings essentially match the state's forestry benchmark while keeping debt minimal. For families concerned about their child entering a lower-paying field, this program demonstrates you can train for outdoor resource management without taking on crushing loans.

If your child is genuinely interested in forest management, this looks like solid preparation without financial overreach. The small sample size means individual outcomes could vary more than usual, but the combination of competitive starting pay and low debt creates a workable foundation for a forestry career.