ROI Major

Civil Engineering Technologies at Lakeland Community College

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 15.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Civil Engineering Technologies degree from Lakeland Community College earn a median salary of $66,438 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $73,738. The degree typically pays for itself in 7 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

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

$56,170

Typical Career

$66,438

Top Performers

$78,372

Estimated break-even: 7 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$443

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,537. Most students can comfortably afford about a $443 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.7x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.9x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Ohio buys what costs $0.90 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 35.7%
Manufacturing 10.2%
Retail Trade 6.7%

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

$73,738

Nominal: $66,438 in Ohio (COL 90.1% of national avg) · 11% 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 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 $37,316 $50,676 $65,194
5 Years After Graduation $56,170 $66,438 $78,372
10 Years After Graduation $57,514 $66,891 $96,310

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 $66,438 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in OH, which has a cost-of-living index of 90.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $66,438 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $73,738 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Civil Engineering Technologies program at Lakeland Community College can expect a solid earnings trajectory. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $50,676, increasing to $66,438 after five years. Notably, the median earnings ten years post-graduation reach $66,891. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equates to approximately $73,738.07 nationally, reflecting a favorable financial outlook for graduates in a state with a cost of living index of 0.901 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly in Health Care & Social Assistance, with 35.7%, 30.0%, and 29.9% of graduates finding employment in this sector. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately seven years, indicating a reasonable return on investment for those pursuing this educational path. Overall, the combination of competitive salaries and strong industry demand suggests that a degree in Civil Engineering Technologies offers a viable career option for students.

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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.