Undergraduate certificate · Willmar, Minnesota

Is Precision Metal Working at Ridgewater College worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 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 1.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $55,888; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $58,769; 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: $18k (likely $18k – $20k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $17k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MN; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.6 years (likely 1.0–2.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $107k (likely $28k – $201k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $290k (likely $126k – $480k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 57%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26