ROI Major

Construction Engineering Technology at Saint Philip's College

TX · Associate's Degree · CIP 15.10

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Construction Engineering Technology degree from Saint Philip's College earn a median salary of $54,051 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $58,687. The degree typically pays for itself in 12.1 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

$35,700

Typical Career

$54,051

Top Performers

$75,586

Estimated break-even: 12.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$360

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,504. Most students can comfortably afford about a $360 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 Texas buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 36.0%
Educational Services 11.1%
Retail Trade 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

$58,687

Nominal: $54,051 in Texas (COL 92.1% of national avg) · 8.6% 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).

12.1 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 $34,596 $48,030 $146,060
5 Years After Graduation $35,700 $54,051 $75,586
10 Years After Graduation $41,019 $51,223 $61,827

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 $54,051 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in TX, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $54,051 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $58,687 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Construction Engineering Technology program at Saint Philip's College can expect a steady earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $34,252, which increases to $44,669 after five years and reaches $48,487 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns closely with the national equivalent at $48,500.54, reflecting the cost of living in Texas, which has a COL index of 0.921 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 75.5% of them employed in this field. The estimated break-even point for those pursuing this path versus a high-school-only education is approximately 21.4 years, indicating a long-term return on investment. Overall, while the initial earnings may be modest, the potential for growth and stability in employment within a significant industry suggests a viable career path for students.

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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.