ROI Major

Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions at Florence - Darlington Technical College

SC · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.10

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions degree from Florence - Darlington Technical College earn a median salary of $48,715 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in SC, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $51,171. The degree typically pays for itself in 17.7 years.

Quick Insights

Slow Burn / High Debt Risk

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$36,766

Typical Career

$48,715

Top Performers

$57,619

Estimated break-even: 17.7 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$325

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,060. Most students can comfortably afford about a $325 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in South Carolina buys what costs $0.95 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Manufacturing, Public Administration.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 45.0%
Manufacturing 9.5%
Public Administration 6.4%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$51,171

Nominal: $48,715 in South Carolina (COL 95.2% of national avg) · 5% higher purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

17.7 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $34,513 $41,615 $46,940
5 Years After Graduation $36,766 $48,715 $57,619
10 Years After Graduation $41,154 $48,487 $59,848

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $48,715 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in SC, which has a cost-of-living index of 95.2% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $48,715 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9520) = $51,171 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

Graduates in Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions from Florence - Darlington Technical College can expect a median earning of $41,615 one year post-graduation, which increases to $48,715 after five years. However, after ten years, the median earnings slightly decrease to $48,487. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of $51,171.22, indicating a relatively stable earning potential in the context of cost of living in South Carolina, where the cost of living index is 0.952 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The primary industries for graduates are Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 68.8% of employment, followed by Manufacturing at 22.7%. The estimated break-even point for pursuing this career path versus a high-school-only route is approximately 17.7 years, suggesting a long-term return on investment. Overall, while the initial earnings may not be exceptionally high, the stability and growth potential in a robust job market can provide a favorable career trajectory for graduates in this field.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.