Associate's · Fresno, California

Is Electrical and Power Transmission Installers at San Joaquin Valley College-Trades Education Center worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 4.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $53,080; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $66,232; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $19,823; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $61k (likely $61k – $77k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $26k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4.1 years (likely 3.4–5.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $91k (likely $32k – $146k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $417k (likely $283k – $557k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 68%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26