Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at University of Maine at Augusta

The numbers here look impressive at first glance—$82,845 in first-year earnings ranks in the 79th percentile nationally—but there's a troubling pattern beneath the surface. Graduates see their income drop by 18% to $68,022 by year four, a trajectory that suggests either initial temporary assignments (like travel nursing contracts) or employment instability. That year-four figure falls below the state median of $74,114, putting UMaine Augusta behind nearly all other nursing programs in Maine. The small sample size (under 30 graduates) amplifies uncertainty: these figures might reflect just a handful of students' unique circumstances rather than a reliable program outcome.

The debt load of $29,510 is reasonable for nursing and roughly in line with state norms, but the declining earnings create financial pressure over time. If those first-year earnings reflected temporary premium positions that graduates couldn't sustain, the debt burden becomes harder to manage as income drops below what peers from other Maine programs earn consistently. Compare this to University of New England or University of Maine, where graduates earn roughly $77,000—incomes that appear more stable across the career arc.

With so few data points, it's impossible to know whether this earnings decline is systematic or just statistical noise. Given the uncertainty and the concerning four-year trajectory, Maine families should strongly consider the state's larger nursing programs that show more consistent—and higher—mid-career earnings.