Undergraduate certificate · Reading, Pennsylvania

Is Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 0.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $77,923; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $110,499; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $26,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $21k (likely $21k – $27k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $71k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.7 years (likely 0.6–0.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $615k (likely $559k – $676k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.46M (likely $1.29M – $1.65M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 29%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26