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Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies at Illinois Eastern Community Colleges - Olney Central College

IL · Associate's Degree · CIP 47.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies degree from Illinois Eastern Community Colleges - Olney Central College earn a median salary of $67,254 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $73,261. The degree typically pays for itself in 6.9 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

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

$48,715

Typical Career

$67,254

Top Performers

$84,259

Estimated break-even: 6.9 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$448

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,605. Most students can comfortably afford about a $448 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.7x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.9x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Manufacturing, Educational Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 49.5%
Manufacturing 9.1%
Educational Services 8.3%

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

$73,261

Nominal: $67,254 in Illinois (COL 91.8% of national avg) · 8.9% 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).

6.9 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 $35,920 $49,482 $69,767
5 Years After Graduation $48,715 $67,254 $84,259
10 Years After Graduation $48,487 $73,075 $95,590

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 $67,254 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IL, which has a cost-of-living index of 91.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $67,254 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $73,261 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies program at Illinois Eastern Community Colleges - Olney Central College can expect a promising earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $54,679, increasing to $69,466 five years later. Interestingly, after ten years, the median earnings slightly decrease to $69,154. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equates to $75,671.02 nationally, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive salary relative to the national average despite the cost of living index in Illinois being lower than the national average.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with participation rates of 72.5%, 54.7%, and 49.5% in various capacities. This trend suggests a strong alignment between the skills acquired in the program and the demands of these industries. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 6.3 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment appears favorable for students pursuing this career path, particularly in a state where the cost of living is relatively manageable.

Compare with Another School

See how the Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies degree at Illinois Eastern Community Colleges - Olney Central College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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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.