Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians at St. John's University-New York

This St. John's audiovisual program starts at a concerning $24,389 annually but shows meaningful momentum, with earnings jumping 32% to $32,120 by year four. That first-year figure sits below both national and state medians for the field—placing around the 40th percentile among New York programs—but the trajectory matters here. While graduates aren't commanding premium salaries, they're also carrying just $27,000 in debt, which is roughly one year's earnings after a few years of career development.

The real question is whether that growth continues. At $32,120 four years out, graduates are finally pulling ahead of typical outcomes for this degree, though they're still earning what many associate degree holders make in other technical fields. For a family investing in a private university education in Queens, this creates an uncomfortable reality: you're paying for a bachelor's degree that delivers mid-range results in a relatively low-paying field, even if the debt burden itself is manageable.

If your child is genuinely passionate about audiovisual production and committed to building a career in New York's media industry, the reasonable debt load and upward earnings pattern make this viable. But know that they'll likely need years of experience and potentially additional skills or connections to reach comfortable middle-class earnings. This isn't a fast track to financial security.