Carpenters at Triangle Tech Inc-Pittsburgh

Triangle Tech's Pittsburgh campus charges $20,000 in typical debt—nearly 60% more than both the national and state median for carpentry programs—while delivering earnings that fall short on multiple fronts. At $35,877 in first-year earnings, graduates here earn about $3,200 less than Pennsylvania's state median and rank in just the 5th percentile nationally. What's more concerning: earnings actually drop to $32,542 by year four, a 9% decline that moves in the wrong direction just as graduates should be building experience and value. For context, two other Triangle Tech campuses (Greensburg and Bethlehem) produce graduates earning $40,572 with this same credential.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.56 means graduates face over half a year's income in student loans, a manageable figure in isolation but problematic when paired with below-average earnings and a downward trajectory. With 60% of students receiving Pell grants, many come from families who can least afford a financial misstep. While ranking in the 40th percentile among Pennsylvania carpentry programs sounds middle-of-the-pack, that's misleading—there are only 8 such programs in the state, and this one sits near the bottom in actual dollar terms.

Unless there's a compelling campus-specific reason (proximity to home, specialized instruction), families should seriously consider the stronger-performing Triangle Tech locations or Thaddeus Stevens College. The higher debt combined with lower and declining earnings makes this particular campus hard to justify.