Ground Transportation at Pennsylvania College of Technology

The $12,000 debt load here is exceptional—this program ties for the lowest debt burden nationally among ground transportation programs—but the earnings story is more complicated. At $45,504 one year out, graduates earn about $8,000 less than the national median for this degree. The silver lining: Pennsylvania College of Technology is the only school in PA offering this associate's degree, so state comparisons are moot, and that debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.26 means graduates could theoretically pay off loans in under four months of gross earnings.

Here's the catch: with fewer than 30 graduates in the dataset, these numbers might not reflect the typical experience. Ground transportation careers can vary wildly depending on specialization—diesel mechanics, logistics coordinators, and commercial drivers all fall under this umbrella with very different earning trajectories. The low national earnings ranking (5th percentile) suggests either this program serves a different market niche than other schools, or graduates are entering lower-paying segments of the transportation industry.

For families prioritizing minimal debt, this program delivers. But if your child is pursuing ground transportation specifically for earning potential, the numbers suggest other schools achieve significantly higher starting salaries. The value proposition hinges entirely on whether the specific career path they're targeting aligns with what this program's typical graduate actually does—information the aggregate data can't tell you.