ROI Major

Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technology at Honolulu Community College

HI · Associate's Degree · CIP 47.01

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technology degree from Honolulu Community College earn a median salary of $59,848 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in HI, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $32,526. The degree typically pays for itself in 7.8 years.

Quick Insights

Slow Burn / High Debt Risk

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

$44,939

Typical Career

$59,848

Top Performers

$74,301

Estimated break-even: 7.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$399

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,987. Most students can comfortably afford about a $399 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.5x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.8x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Hawaii buys what costs $1.84 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Retail Trade, Health Care & Social Assistance, Construction.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Retail Trade 16.2%
Health Care & Social Assistance 13.7%
Construction 11.9%

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

$32,526

Nominal: $59,848 in Hawaii (COL 184.0% of national avg) · 45.7% lower 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).

7.8 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

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 $27,237 $38,400 $50,831
5 Years After Graduation $44,939 $59,848 $74,301
10 Years After Graduation $74,643 $102,996 $116,662

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 $59,848 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in HI, which has a cost-of-living index of 184.0% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $59,848 × (1.0 ÷ 1.8400) = $32,526 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technology program at Honolulu Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $38,400, which increases to $59,848 after five years and reaches $102,996 after ten years. However, when considering the cost of living in Hawaii, the purchasing-power-adjusted five-year salary is approximately $32,526.09, indicating that while nominal earnings grow, the real value may be impacted by the higher cost of living in the state.

The top industries for graduates include Retail Trade, which employs 16.2% of alumni, followed closely by Construction at 14.5%. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 7.8 years compared to a high school-only path, the return on investment for this program appears favorable. Students should weigh the potential for stable employment in these sectors against the cost of education and living expenses in Hawaii to make an informed decision about their career path.

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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.