UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATE OR DIPLOMA · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES
Is a undergraduate certificate or diploma in Carpenters worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 14 college programs with reportable data.
Personal baseline needed
$42,787 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
$42,787Median year-4 earnings
$13,158Average institution net-price context
$11,911Median federal debt
Start with your decision
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
$42,787Typical earnings four years after completion
$39,628Average earnings five years after completion
$11,911Typical federal student debt
33thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
183Degrees awarded in 2024–25
14College programs reporting earnings
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 10 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about Carpenters
How much do Carpenters undergraduate certificate or diploma graduates earn?
The national median is $42,787 four years after completion across reportable undergraduate certificate or diploma programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
The median reported federal debt is $11,911. The figure excludes private loans and does not describe every graduate.
Does the college matter for Carpenters?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $36,714 to $44,860 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to Carpenters?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 2 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$36,714National median$42,78775th percentile$44,860
14 programs report year‑4 earnings.BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Compare price, debt and earnings together
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
Highest observed earnings
Western Iowa Tech Community College
$62,497 four years after completionSioux City, IA · inspect the full program →Lowest reported federal debtOrleans Technical College
$7,521 among completer borrowersPhiladelphia, PA · inspect the full program →Largest recent graduating classTulsa Technology Center
55 reported awards in 2024–25Tulsa, OK · inspect the full program →PRICE × EARNINGS MAP
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
$59,101Observed year-4 earnings$26,841
Western Iowa Tech Community College$8,770 price · $62,497 earningsNorth Bennet Street School$27,251 price · $59,101 earningsDes Moines Area Community College$11,171 price · $50,349 earningsMadison Area Technical College$14,238 price · $45,371 earningsWestern Technical College$11,008 price · $44,860 earningsAlexandria Technical & Community College$13,691 price · $44,053 earningsFort Hays Tech North Central$12,393 price · $43,522 earningsSt Cloud Technical and Community College$9,635 price · $42,052 earningsKansas City Kansas Community College$16,744 price · $40,446 earningsCity Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College$9,494 price · $37,726 earningsTulsa Technology Center$5,723 price · $36,714 earningsOrleans Technical College$20,113 price · $32,136 earningsOcean County Vocational-Technical School$10,828 price · $26,841 earnings
$5,723Annual college-wide average net price$20,113
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
14 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 14 shown
Search every reporting program →
See the spread, not just the national number.
1Western Iowa Tech Community College$62,4972North Bennet Street School$59,1013Des Moines Area Community College$50,3494Madison Area Technical College$45,3715Western Technical College$44,8606Alexandria Technical & Community College$44,0537Fort Hays Tech North Central$43,5228St Cloud Technical and Community College$42,0529Kansas City Kansas Community College$40,44610City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College$37,726Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Pay and projected demand
Related careers do not share one outlook
Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection
Higher median wage ↑
-7%Projected employment growth →12%
Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$79,920 median wage812,210 jobs nationwide+5.0% projected growth through 2035 · 67,000 openings a yearTypical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent$53,280–$128,260 typical wage rangeCarpenters$60,580 median wage670,090 jobs nationwide+3.9% projected growth through 2035 · 62,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent$40,410–$99,910 typical wage range
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.