Biology at St Petersburg College

St. Petersburg College biology graduates earn $37,741 in their first year—outpacing 80% of Florida biology programs and nearly $11,000 above the state median. For context, this beats flagship programs like Florida A&M ($34,012) and keeps pace with pricier private schools like Barry University. Among Florida's 38 biology programs, only Miami Dade delivers comparable outcomes at the associate level, making SPC's performance particularly impressive for a community college bachelor's offering.

The tradeoff? Graduates carry $40,916 in debt—roughly double Florida's typical biology debt load of $21,750. That 1.08 debt-to-earnings ratio means borrowing slightly more than your first year's salary, which is higher than ideal but manageable given the strong earning power. The premium debt likely reflects the cost of completing upper-division coursework at SPC after transferring credits, a common pattern at Florida colleges that recently added four-year programs.

For families weighing options, this is fundamentally a question of whether $20,000 in extra debt is worth accessing solid biology earnings without leaving the Tampa Bay area. The answer depends on your alternatives—if your child would otherwise attend a comparable Florida program with similar costs, this is competitive. But if they can access University of Florida or other state universities at lower net cost through financial aid, those remain worth serious consideration despite SPC's strong graduate outcomes.