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Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies at Northeastern Technical College

SC · Certificate Degree · CIP 15.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies degree from Northeastern Technical College earn a median salary of $63,970 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in SC, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $67,195. The degree typically pays for itself in 7.2 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

$50,441

Typical Career

$63,970

Top Performers

$78,529

Estimated break-even: 7.2 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$426

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,331. Most students can comfortably afford about a $426 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.6x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.8x 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: Manufacturing, Health Care & Social Assistance, Retail Trade.

Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work

Manufacturing 35.1%
Health Care & Social Assistance 17.2%
Retail Trade 7.0%

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

$67,195

Nominal: $63,970 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).

7.2 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 $42,596 $52,479 $61,278
5 Years After Graduation $50,441 $63,970 $78,529
10 Years After Graduation $48,315 $67,570 $89,089

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 $63,970 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)
= $63,970 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9520) = $67,195 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies program at Northeastern Technical College can expect a solid earnings trajectory. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $52,479, which increases to $63,970 after five years, and reaches $67,570 by the ten-year mark. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $67,195.38, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive salary relative to national standards despite the lower cost of living in South Carolina.

The top industries for graduates predominantly include Health Care & Social Assistance, which employs 62.6% of graduates, followed by Manufacturing at 35.1%. The significant presence in Health Care suggests a strong demand for technical expertise in this sector. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 7.2 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing this degree appears favorable, particularly given the potential for stable employment in growing industries.

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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.