Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions at University of Maine at Farmington

The immediate post-graduation earnings here should concern any parent considering this program. At $27,344 in the first year, graduates earn just 68% of what their peers at the state's top program make, and they rank in the bottom 5% nationally. Even among Maine's limited options for this field, this program falls short of the state median by nearly $6,000 annually.

The dramatic 75% earnings jump by year four suggests graduates may be taking entry-level positions that require time to transition into better-paying roles, but there's a meaningful catch: with only a small cohort tracked, these numbers could shift significantly with different data. The debt load matches the national median, which means graduates start with nearly a full year's salary in loans—manageable if that first-year salary were competitive, but challenging when it's this low.

For Maine families, this is a tough value equation. Your child would likely face lean early years while building toward that $47,722 mid-career mark, which still trails both state and national benchmarks. Unless there are compelling personal reasons to attend UMF specifically—perhaps proximity to home or particular faculty connections—the University of Maine at Augusta offers a clearer path to financial stability in this field. The small sample size means we can't be entirely certain about these outcomes, but the gap is large enough to warrant serious consideration of alternatives.