ROI Major

Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies at Trident Technical College

SC · Associate's Degree · CIP 15.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies degree from Trident Technical College earn a median salary of $67,138 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in SC, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $70,523. The degree typically pays for itself in 6.4 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

$54,474

Typical Career

$67,138

Top Performers

$89,880

Estimated break-even: 6.4 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$448

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,595. 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 South Carolina buys what costs $0.95 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 36.3%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 9.5%
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

$70,523

Nominal: $67,138 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).

6.4 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 $39,425 $54,615 $74,457
5 Years After Graduation $54,474 $67,138 $89,880
10 Years After Graduation $60,342 $85,137 $110,004

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 $67,138 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)
= $67,138 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9520) = $70,523 National Average equivalent.

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

Compare with Another School

See how the Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies degree at Trident Technical 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.