Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at Southern Careers Institute-San Antonio

At under $19,000 annually, graduates of this certificate program earn roughly what a full-time minimum wage worker makes in Texas—and their earnings actually drop slightly over the next three years. While the program sits at the 60th percentile among Texas schools offering this credential, that's partly because the state median itself is exceptionally low at $18,214. The national picture is more sobering: this program ranks in just the 10th percentile nationally, where the typical graduate earns $25,000. Compare that to Houston Community College's business operations program, where graduates start above $37,000, and the gap becomes stark.

The saving grace here is the modest debt load of $6,861, translating to a manageable 0.38 debt-to-earnings ratio. For the 72% of students receiving Pell grants, this represents a relatively low-risk credential that won't trap them in unmanageable debt. However, the earnings themselves may not justify even this limited investment—these wages leave graduates barely above poverty level for a single person, making it difficult to achieve financial independence.

Parents should view this as exactly what the data shows: a low-cost, low-return credential. If your child needs immediate workforce entry and you're weighing this against more expensive options, the contained debt makes it tolerable. But if they can access community college alternatives like Houston or Dallas College—even if it means commuting or relocating—those programs deliver nearly double the earnings for similar or lower costs.