Undergraduate certificate · Uvalde, Texas

Is Precision Metal Working at Southwest Texas 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $37,775; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $37,328; 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: $3k (likely $3k – $5k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $968 a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.9 years (likely 0.7–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$37k (likely −$81k – $10k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$50k (likely −$137k – $45k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 31%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26