ROI Major

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at Lane Community College

OR · Associate's Degree · CIP 47.06

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies degree from Lane Community College earn a median salary of $56,595 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OR, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $49,514. The degree typically pays for itself in 9.5 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

$39,425

Typical Career

$56,595

Top Performers

$73,849

Estimated break-even: 9.5 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$377

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,716. Most students can comfortably afford about a $377 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.5x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Oregon buys what costs $1.14 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 31.2%
Retail Trade 8.2%
Educational Services 7.4%

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

$49,514

Nominal: $56,595 in Oregon (COL 114.3% of national avg) · 12.5% 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).

9.5 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 $31,818 $43,133 $57,619
5 Years After Graduation $39,425 $56,595 $73,849
10 Years After Graduation $48,334 $64,175 $91,565

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 $56,595 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in OR, which has a cost-of-living index of 114.3% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $56,595 × (1.0 ÷ 1.1430) = $49,514 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies program at Lane Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $43,133, increasing to $56,595 after five years and reaching $64,175 by the ten-year mark. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $49,514.44, reflecting the cost of living in Oregon, which has a COL index of 1.143 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 45.9% in the field, followed by 31.2% and 28.8% in similar roles. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately 9.5 years, indicating a reasonable return on investment for those pursuing this career path. Overall, the program offers a solid opportunity for financial growth and stability in a growing industry.

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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.