Computer and Information Sciences at Sandhills Community College

Based on comparable programs across North Carolina, this two-year computing degree looks like it positions graduates right at the state median for earnings—around $41,000 in the first year—while carrying manageable debt of about $15,300. That 0.38 debt-to-earnings ratio suggests graduates would need roughly five months of their gross salary to cover educational debt, which is reasonable for a technical associate's degree. However, it's worth noting that several NC community colleges with actual reported data show their computing graduates earning $45,000-$48,000, suggesting there may be variation in program quality or local job markets that these estimates can't capture.

The challenge here is that without Sandhills' specific outcomes data, you're making a decision based on what similar NC programs typically produce rather than what this particular program delivers. The estimated figures align with national benchmarks—actually running about $5,000 above the national median—but that doesn't tell you whether Sandhills connects students to Raleigh's tech corridor or keeps them in the more rural Sandhills region where IT opportunities may be thinner. For a field where employer connections and internship pipelines matter enormously, program-level differences can be significant even when state averages look solid.

If your student is committed to staying in central North Carolina and values Sandhills' location or support services, the estimated numbers suggest reasonable value. But given the stronger documented outcomes at Wake Tech and Durham Tech, it's worth comparing what those programs offer if proximity isn't a constraint.