UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATE OR DIPLOMA · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES

Is a undergraduate certificate or diploma in Construction Trades, General worth it?

Compare cost, debt and earnings across 7 college programs with reportable data.

Personal baseline needed

$39,108 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.

$39,108Median year-4 earnings
$13,487Average institution net-price context
$9,322Median federal debt
Use your actual price and alternative earnings before evaluating return. Model your own starting point →
Start with your decision

What do you need to compare?

WHAT THIS DEGREE PAYS

Outcomes at a glance

$39,108Typical earnings four years after completion
$34,321Average earnings five years after completion
$9,322Typical federal student debt
27thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
327Degrees awarded in 2024–25
6College programs reporting earnings

Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 4 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.

A PRACTICAL READ

Four useful answers about Construction Trades, General

How much do Construction Trades, General undergraduate certificate or diploma graduates earn?

The national median is $39,108 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 $9,322. The figure excludes private loans and does not describe every graduate.

Does the college matter for Construction Trades, General?

Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $37,884 to $40,154 in observed year-4 earnings.

What careers are related to Construction Trades, General?

DegreeVerdict links this field to 1 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.

COMPARE DEGREE LEVELS

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.

CURRENT VIEW

Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma

Year-4 earnings
$39,108
Federal debt
$9,322
Programs in the comparison
7
6 report earnings →
OPEN PROFILE

Associate's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$95,028
Federal debt
$13,181
Programs in the comparison
2
1 report earnings →
COLLEGE-TO-COLLEGE RANGE

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$37,884National median$39,10875th percentile$40,154
6 programs report year‑4 earnings.
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE

Compare price, debt and earnings together

$40,15475th-percentile year-4 earnings among reporting programs
$9,322Median federal debt across programs that report it
2Programs with earnings in the top quarter and debt at or below the median
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

Perry Technical Institute

$60,617 four years after completionYakima, WA · inspect the full program →
Lowest reported federal debt

Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCES

$8,233 among completer borrowersLiverpool, NY · inspect the full program →
Largest recent graduating class

Summit Academy Opportunities Industrialization Center

241 reported awards in 2024–25Minneapolis, MN · 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.

All reporting colleges Lower-price, higher-earnings quadrantAxes trim the outer 5% for readability; outliers remain pinned to the chart edge. Price is institution-wide context, not exact program tuition.
Build your shortlist

Choose colleges offering this exact degree

Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.

7 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 7 shown
Search every reporting program →
WHERE OUTCOMES ARE STRONGEST

See the spread, not just the national number.

1Perry Technical Institute$60,6172Great Oaks Career Campuses$44,7033Summit Academy Opportunities Industrialization Center$40,1544Apex Technical School$38,0625Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCES$37,8846North American Trade Schools$36,1467Lake Land CollegeNot available

Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking

Career outlook

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.

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 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.