Associate's · Chula Vista, California

Is Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians at Pima Medical Institute-Chula Vista worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 16.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $41,324; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $47,647; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $18,988; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $121k (likely $104k – $148k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 16.8 years (likely 12.8–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$169k (likely −$230k – −$124k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$56k (likely −$148k – $40k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 63%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26