Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

Thaddeus Stevens manages to keep debt reasonable at $10,458, but the earnings picture is troubling. Graduates here start at $35,020—about $7,500 below the Pennsylvania median for auto tech programs and nearly $8,000 below the national median. This isn't just a modest lag: it places the program in the 11th percentile nationally, meaning 89% of comparable programs produce better earnings outcomes.

The state comparison tells the fuller story. Pennsylvania has 17 schools offering this degree, and Thaddeus Stevens lands squarely at the 40th percentile—middle of the pack for PA, but well behind top performers. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics ($52,407) and Penn College of Technology ($50,519) show that Pennsylvania students can earn $15,000-$17,000 more annually at other in-state options, often with similar debt loads. Even the state median of $37,509 beats Thaddeus Stevens by over $2,000. While earnings do grow 15% to $40,206 by year four, that's still substantially below what graduates start earning at stronger Pennsylvania programs.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.30 means this program won't bury students financially, and that matters. But with multiple Pennsylvania alternatives offering significantly better starting positions in the same field, families should carefully examine why earnings lag so far behind. For an auto tech degree, starting salary often correlates with the caliber of employer relationships and equipment—worth investigating directly with each school.