Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at South Puget Sound Community College

In Washington state, practical nursing programs typically produce first-year earnings around $51,000—about $7,000 higher than what similar programs suggest for this certificate. That gap matters when you're looking at roughly $14,000 in debt. While the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.31 appears manageable on paper, Washington's nursing market typically rewards these credentials more generously than national averages would indicate.

Nearby programs with reported outcomes tell a clearer story. Clover Park Technical College graduates earn over $53,000 in their first year, while Olympic College graduates make nearly $49,000. Both figures significantly exceed the national baseline used to estimate this program's outcomes. The question is whether South Puget Sound's program delivers closer to Washington's typical results or falls short—and without actual graduate data, there's no way to know.

The debt level appears reasonable for a healthcare credential, but you're essentially betting that this specific program performs at least as well as the state average. Before committing, contact the school directly for their graduate employment statistics and starting wages. If they can't provide concrete data about where their graduates work and what they earn, that's its own answer about program transparency and potentially about outcomes.