Undergraduate certificate · San Antonio, Texas

Is Precision Metal Working at Southern Careers Institute-San Antonio 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 6.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $36,476; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $44,645; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $7,125; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $32k (likely $32k – $34k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.7 years (likely 5.8–8.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$515 (likely −$23k – $18k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $121k (likely $50k – $188k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 67%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26