Undergraduate certificate · Rancho Mirage, California

Is Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at San Joaquin Valley College-Rancho Mirage worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $60,671; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $31k (likely $31k – $33k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $23k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.9 years (likely 1.2–3.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $157k (likely $47k – $285k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $417k (likely $177k – $679k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 64%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26