Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at San Bernardino Valley College

Similar automotive technology programs in California suggest first-year earnings around $39,800, which falls short of the national median by roughly $3,000. That gap matters in a competitive field where students can choose from 83 programs statewide—and where the top performers in California are pushing graduates toward $64,000 annually. The estimated $11,400 in debt is manageable by any standard, yielding a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.29 that's well below concerning thresholds.

The challenge here is visibility. San Bernardino Valley College's automotive program has too few graduates for the Department of Education to report actual outcomes, which makes it impossible to know whether this school outperforms or underperforms the state average. That's a meaningful uncertainty when you're comparing it to established programs like those at San Joaquin Valley College, where reported earnings are 60% higher. Peer programs in California typically carry more debt (around $18,800), so if that lower estimate holds true here, it's a point in this program's favor.

For parents, the practical question is whether you're comfortable with estimated figures based on the broader California market. The debt load looks reasonable, but without real data showing where this program's graduates actually land, you're essentially betting on the state average—not on any track record specific to San Bernardino Valley College.