Health and Physical Education/Fitness at Saginaw Valley State University

Among Michigan's health and physical education programs, Saginaw Valley State delivers middle-of-the-pack starting salaries but manages to keep debt remarkably low. That $30,000 debt load ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally—meaning 95% of similar programs leave students with more debt. At 60th percentile for earnings within Michigan, graduates here earn about $3,000 more than the state median, though they still trail top programs like University of Michigan-Ann Arbor by roughly $12,000.

The trajectory matters here: earnings jump 31% by year four, reaching nearly $41,000. That's solid momentum for a field where starting salaries often hover in the low thirties. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97 means graduates face less than one year's salary in debt—a manageable starting point for teachers and fitness professionals entering fields with modest but stable pay scales.

The real advantage is graduating with $5,000 less debt than the national median while earning slightly above average. For families weighing in-state options and concerned about PE teacher or athletic training career paths with predictable but modest salaries, that lighter debt burden translates to more breathing room in those critical early career years when every dollar counts.