ROI Major

Ground Transportation at Sauk Valley Community College

IL · Certificate Degree · CIP 49.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Ground Transportation degree from Sauk Valley Community College earn a median salary of $58,065 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $63,252. The degree typically pays for itself in 9.1 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

$39,196

Typical Career

$58,065

Top Performers

$71,155

Estimated break-even: 9.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$387

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,839. Most students can comfortably afford about a $387 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 Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 34.1%
Manufacturing 19.1%
Retail Trade 8.5%

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

$63,252

Nominal: $58,065 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).

9.1 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 $33,299 $45,341 $62,075
5 Years After Graduation $39,196 $58,065 $71,155
10 Years After Graduation $41,187 $63,134 $78,843

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 $58,065 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)
= $58,065 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $63,252 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Ground Transportation program at Sauk Valley Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory over time. With median earnings of $45,341 one year post-graduation, this figure increases to $58,065 after five years and reaches $63,134 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of $63,251.63, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive financial standing relative to their peers across the country, despite the cost of living index in Illinois being slightly lower than the national average.

The program's graduates primarily enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with a significant majority of 45.3% in the first year and 34.3% and 34.1% in subsequent years. This concentration suggests that the skills acquired in the Ground Transportation program are highly applicable and valued in these industries. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 9.1 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for students pursuing this program appears favorable, particularly considering the potential for stable employment in a growing field.

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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.