Associate's · Wahpeton, North Dakota

Is Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians at North Dakota State College of Science 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 2.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $54,187; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $67,584; 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: $30k (likely $25k – $36k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $24k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in ND; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.7 years (likely 1.9–3.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $85k (likely $2k – $172k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $381k (likely $200k – $592k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 54%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26