ROI Major

Electromechanical Technologies at Lake Land College

IL · Associate's Degree · CIP 15.04

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Electromechanical Technologies degree from Lake Land College earn a median salary of $63,496 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $69,168. The degree typically pays for itself in 7.6 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

$48,291

Typical Career

$63,496

Top Performers

$80,643

Estimated break-even: 7.6 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$423

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,291. Most students can comfortably afford about a $423 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.6x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.8x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 27.2%
Manufacturing 13.0%
Educational Services 9.0%

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

$69,168

Nominal: $63,496 in Illinois (COL 91.8% of national avg) · 8.9% 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).

7.6 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 $38,967 $51,647 $67,570
5 Years After Graduation $48,291 $63,496 $80,643
10 Years After Graduation $45,365 $60,837 $77,631

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 $63,496 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IL, which has a cost-of-living index of 91.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $63,496 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $69,168 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Electromechanical Technologies program at Lake Land College experience a positive earnings trajectory, with median earnings reaching $51,647 one year after graduation and increasing to $63,496 five years later. However, by the ten-year mark, median earnings slightly decrease to $60,837. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equates to approximately $69,167.76 nationally, indicating that graduates can expect competitive earnings relative to their peers across the country, despite the cost of living index in Illinois being slightly lower than the national average.

The program prepares students for careers primarily in the Health Care & Social Assistance and Manufacturing sectors, which account for a significant portion of graduate employment. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 7.6 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing this degree appears favorable. Overall, students can anticipate a solid career foundation and the potential for stable income growth in key industries.

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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.