Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies at Central Carolina Technical College
SC · Certificate Degree · CIP 47.03
Executive Summary
Graduates with a Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies degree from Central Carolina Technical College earn a median salary of $55,935 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in SC, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $58,755. The degree typically pays for itself in 9.6 years.
Quick Insights
How this degree looks at a glance
A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.
Salary Ranges
Starting Range
$39,618
Typical Career
$55,935
Top Performers
$67,222
Estimated break-even: 9.6 years.
Debt-to-Income Check
$373
Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment
Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,661. Most students can comfortably afford about a $373 monthly loan payment with this degree.
Comparison Bench
This degree earns 1.4x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.
Purchasing Power Context
A dollar in South Carolina buys what costs $0.95 nationally.
Industry Breadcrumbs
Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Manufacturing, Retail Trade.
Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work
Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.
5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent
$58,755
Nominal: $55,935 in South Carolina (COL 95.2% of national avg) · 5% higher purchasing power
10-Year Earnings Curve
Break-Even Timeline
How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).
Total Investment
$155,168
4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost
HS Graduate Baseline
$38,792/yr
BLS 2023 median, HS diploma
View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
| Timeframe | 25th Pct. | Median (50th) | 75th Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year After Graduation | $32,210 | $47,270 | $60,972 |
| 5 Years After Graduation | $39,618 | $55,935 | $67,222 |
| 10 Years After Graduation | $46,337 | $60,990 | $76,015 |
Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).
How We Calculate Purchasing Power
The median salary of $55,935 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in SC, which has a cost-of-living index of 95.2% of the national average.
Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $55,935 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9520)
= $58,755 National Average equivalent.
COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →
Career Verdict
The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, with 54.2% of graduates entering this field one year after graduation, and the percentage remains significant at 38.6% and 30.2% after five and ten years, respectively. The estimated break-even point for this educational path compared to a high-school-only route is approximately 9.6 years, suggesting a reasonable return on investment for students pursuing this program. Overall, the data indicates that graduates can achieve stable employment and earnings growth, particularly in a robust sector like health care.
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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.