Accounting at Tacoma Community College

The $19,762 first-year earnings from Tacoma Community College's accounting certificate falls significantly short of what you'd expect—it's less than the Washington state median of $25,818 and ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally. Even accounting for the small sample size (under 30 graduates), this gap is concerning. For comparison, Spokane Community College's accounting certificate graduates earn $31,873 their first year—about 60% more than Tacoma's median. The modest debt load of $11,054 is below the state average, but that's cold comfort when graduates aren't earning enough to justify even that amount.

The low earnings might reflect students who continue their education immediately after the certificate or who only work part-time, but those possibilities don't change the fundamental calculus. If your child is pursuing accounting as a career—not just as a stepping stone to a bachelor's degree—you need clear evidence that this certificate leads to full-time bookkeeping or accounting assistant positions. Contact Tacoma's career services to ask about actual job placements and whether most certificate holders continue to associate degrees. Without that context, the numbers suggest this particular credential isn't opening doors to the kind of entry-level accounting work that typically pays $30,000-$35,000 annually in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area.