Certain professional or technical degrees offered by the state’s community and technical colleges pay handsomely for their graduates.

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Want to make good money without earning a four-year college degree? Consider becoming a dental hygienist, diagnostic ultrasound technician, registered nurse or respiratory-therapy technician.

Those are a few of the jobs with salaries that hit $50,000 or more a year just a year out of a training program at a community or technical college.

These numbers — produced by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) — dovetail with the findings from a recent report by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, which concludes that blue-collar jobs that pay a good wage continue to be on the decline across the country, but skilled-services jobs that pay well are on the rise.

And while those skilled-service jobs don’t require a four-year college degree, applicants typically need some education beyond high school, such as an associate or technical degree or certificate from a community college.

In its report, “Good Jobs that Pay without a BA,” Georgetown calculates that there are 30 million jobs in the United States today that provide median earnings of $55,000 annually for people without a bachelor’s degree. (For the purpose of this report, Georgetown defines a “good job” as one that pays a median earnings of $55,000 a year, and a minimum of $35,000 a year.)

The report also estimates that 62 percent of Washington workers don’t have a bachelor’s degree. Of those workers, only 42 percent have a job that pays a good wage.

Georgetown identified five industries in Washington that have had the greatest growth in “good jobs” since 1991: leisure and hospitality and personal services, health-care services, financial consulting/business services, education services and government services.

But let’s get more specific.

The state community-college board collects data on what its students are paid a year after they graduate from one of its colleges’ professional and technical programs and certificates. (Professional and technical programs prepare students for the workforce, and are not the same as academic transfer programs, which get students ready to transfer to a four-year college and earn a bachelor’s degree.)

The report has some limitations; for example, the board knows its graduates’ fields of study and their year-after-graduation pay, but it doesn’t know if the graduate actually took a job in the specific field in which they studied. Still, the report is a pretty good indicator, and the numbers align well with the Georgetown University study. It’s also current, measuring how much students who graduated in 2013-14 were making in 2015-16.

Graduates who go into health care earn some of the top salaries. The highest-paid field of study in Washington is dental hygienist. The median salary in that field is $42 an hour. Nursing — no surprise here — is a top field, too, with the state’s 1,533 nursing graduates from 2013-14 making a median wage of $31.66 an hour. The midpoint salary for professionals in diagnostic medical ultrasound is $34.32 an hour.

Some programs that graduate fewer than 50 students a year — including cardiovascular technology, fire science and water quality/wastewater management — also pay very high wages.

One caveat: Some of the highest-paying fields of study are also difficult to get into because there’s so much competition among students. For example, a student applying to get into a community-college nursing program will need top grades in prerequisite courses, said Darby Kaikkonen, policy-research director for the community and technical college board.

Early childhood education is the lowest-paying field in Washington, offering a median salary of just $13.61 an hour, or median annual salary of $21,940 for the 525 students who graduated with that degree.

That’s a reflection of how little value is placed on teaching young children, said Laura McDowell, spokeswoman for the colleges. But because it’s also a popular field, the colleges are designing “stackable” certificates — certificates that build on each other and lead to an associate degree, which then can lead to an applied bachelor’s degree, which can lead to a higher salary. Highline College offers such a program.

Between 1991 and 2015, the number of blue-collars jobs did go up in Washington state — no doubt some of them in the construction industry, one of the most lucrative fields for people without a bachelor’s in fast-growing Seattle.

But the state added even more good jobs for people who worked in skilled services — 93,000 jobs in all, according to the Georgetown analysis.

Grads from these 10 community-college programs make the highest salaries


This chart shows the median salaries students are making a year after they graduate from one of the professional or technical programs listed below. The report has some limitations – for example, researchers don’t know if graduates actually took a job in the specific field in which they studied. If you’re viewing this interactive on a mobile, rotate your device to landscape mode.


Job/field of study,Total students completing program,Median wages,Median earnings
Accounting technician & bookkeeping,552,$16.13 ,”$28,342 ”
Administrative assistant & secretary sciences,71,$14.52 ,”$26,306 ”
Agriculture business & management,11,$16.06 ,”$29,948 ”
Air traffic control,23,$15.89 ,”$29,360 ”
Aircraft/frame/powerplant mechanic,148,$18.30 ,”$39,670 ”
Airframe mechanical & aircraft,236,$16.34 ,”$34,094 ”
Airline/commercial/professional pilot,27,$18.59 ,”$26,852 ”
Anesthesiologist assistant,10,$22.19 ,”$47,837 ”
Architectural drafting & architectural CAD,16,$21.06 ,”$29,314 ”
Auto mechanics,378,$14.64 ,”$28,727 ”
Auto service center specialist,12,$13.67 ,”$22,815 ”
Auto body/collision & repair,69,$14.45 ,”$29,081 ”
Biomedical technician,33,$23.67 ,”$49,364 ”
Building construction technician,26,$15.59 ,”$24,826 ”
Building/construction management,31,$22.62 ,”$48,885 ”
Building/home/construction specialist,12,$25.40 ,”$30,446 ”
Business administrative & management,313,$15.35 ,”$26,961 ”
Cabinetmaking & millwork,29,$16.63 ,”$29,913 ”
CAD draft/design technician,44,$19.51 ,”$38,416 ”
Cardiovascular technologist,11,$41.71 ,”$76,718 ”
Carpentry,40,$17.41 ,”$29,026 ”
Child-care provider/assistant,17,$14.05 ,”$27,000 ”
Civil draft/engineer CAD,23,$21.62 ,”$41,399 ”
Civil engineering technician,19,$20.51 ,”$35,008 ”
Clinical/medical lab technician (certificate),52,$18.94 ,”$35,766 ”
Computer numerical control machinist technician,25,$17.14 ,”$32,320 ”
Commercial photography,24,$14.79 ,”$17,160 ”
Computer & information systems security,105,$20.19 ,”$40,493 ”
Computer graphics,66,$14.50 ,”$19,480 ”
“Computer program, product”,10,$17.01 ,”$33,113 ”
Computer programming,115,$21.14 ,”$40,308 ”
Computer support specialist,77,$14.44 ,”$27,924 ”
Computer systems network/telecommunication,372,$18.23 ,”$35,031 ”
Computer technician/computer system,12,$21.15 ,”$44,464 ”
Construction engineer technician,13,$15.81 ,”$30,464 ”
Construction management,31,$28.29 ,”$55,876 ”
Construction/heavy equipment operators,13,$16.04 ,”$19,791 ”
Criminal justice/law enforcement,130,$14.53 ,”$25,522 ”
Data warehouse & database administration,58,$26.11 ,”$53,225 ”
Dental assistant,243,$15.78 ,”$26,167 ”
Dental hygienist,163,$42.00 ,”$60,629 ”
Diagnostic ultrasound technician,68,$34.32 ,”$57,829 ”
Diesel mechanics technician,172,$16.73 ,”$34,315 ”
Digital media: web/multi,95,$17.00 ,”$24,989 ”
“Draft & design technician, general”,94,$18.54 ,”$35,012 ”
Early childhood educator & teacher,525,$13.61 ,”$21,940 ”
Electrical/electronic & communications technician,78,$21.47 ,”$39,637 ”
Electrical/power transmission installer,39,$20.94 ,”$41,121 ”
Electrician,49,$15.95 ,”$29,428 ”
Electro-mechanical technician,33,$19.69 ,”$41,944 ”
Electrocardiograph technician,15,$13.91 ,”$23,608 ”
EMT (ambulance),262,$15.04 ,”$29,536 ”
EMT (paramedic),101,$21.07 ,”$44,448 ”
“Engineering technician, general”,145,$17.05 ,”$35,140 ”
Environmental engineer technician,11,$15.30 ,”$31,592 ”
Environmental technology,10,$15.07 ,”$28,221 ”
Esthetician & skin care,35,$17.14 ,”$18,334 ”
Executive assistant/secretary,29,$15.91 ,”$29,707 ”
Fashion/apparel design,24,$15.78 ,”$26,533 ”
Firefighting,147,$17.01 ,”$31,423 ”
Fire science/administration,12,$34.48 ,”$90,427 ”
Fire systems technician,16,$18.79 ,”$37,146 ”
Fishing & fisheries,14,$14.49 ,”$27,591 ”
Foreign language for workplace,14,$16.27 ,”$30,667 ”
Forest technician,15,$17.33 ,”$32,785 ”
Funeral director/service,20,$19.65 ,”$38,271 ”
Graphic design,57,$26.09 ,”$41,000 ”
Graphic information systems & cartography,14,$23.83 ,”$39,862 ”
Health information/medical records,133,$17.00 ,”$33,556 ”
Health unit coordinator/ward clerk,39,$15.59 ,”$25,180 ”
Hearing instrument specialist,12,$16.50 ,”$27,391 ”
Heat/AC/vent/refrigeration maintenance,101,$19.55 ,”$36,942 ”
Hemodialysis technician,36,$16.86 ,”$33,951 ”
Histologic technician,10,$18.75 ,”$42,371 ”
Home health aide,20,$15.76 ,”$30,214 ”
“Horticulture operations, general”,44,$14.60 ,”$22,908 ”
Hospital central service technician,21,$18.01 ,”$34,078 ”
Human resources management/personnel,30,$16.81 ,”$29,885 ”
Human services training,118,$14.93 ,”$27,058 ”
Industrial electronics technician,18,$15.30 ,”$23,229 ”
Industrial plant services,11,$22.13 ,”$46,122 ”
Information processing,56,$17.00 ,”$33,290 ”
Instrumentation technician,20,$20.23 ,”$46,955 ”
Interior design,54,$15.87 ,”$22,653 ”
Job skills for constuction trade,19,$14.55 ,”$23,896 ”
Landscaping & groundskeeping,13,$17.04 ,”$32,812 ”
Legal administrative assistant/secretary,39,$14.00 ,”$25,084 ”
Legal assistant/paralegal,212,$17.21 ,”$31,608 ”
Liberal arts & sciences,192,$14.14 ,”$20,194 ”
Library assisting,12,$13.65 ,”$22,694 ”
Licensed practical nursing,280,$21.51 ,”$40,024 ”
Logistics & materials management,13,$22.47 ,”$47,057 ”
Machine tool technician,187,$17.73 ,”$35,897 ”
Manufacturing technician,83,$17.44 ,”$34,944 ”
Marketing management,101,$17.45 ,”$31,628 ”
Massage therapy,53,$20.90 ,”$16,637 ”
Mechanical drafting/CAD,11,$17.33 ,”$41,960 ”
Mechanical technician,16,$17.85 ,”$33,133 ”
Medical insurance coding specialist,112,$15.04 ,”$26,893 ”
Medical insurance specialist,36,$16.11 ,”$28,187 ”
Medical laboratory technician,16,$22.44 ,”$44,724 ”
Medical office assistant,55,$14.02 ,”$25,832 ”
Medical office management,10,$14.67 ,”$23,396 ”
Medical receptionist,37,$14.29 ,”$19,804 ”
Medical/clinical assistant,654,$15.65 ,”$30,046 ”
Meeting & event planning,11,$13.93 ,”$31,211 ”
Mental health service technician,16,$13.74 ,”$23,126 ”
“Microcomputer apps, general”,129,$16.00 ,”$24,853 ”
Motorcycle maintenance & repair,16,$14.50 ,”$28,203 ”
Multi-skilled health care,26,$15.45 ,”$23,374 ”
Musical instrument digital interface technology,27,$14.05 ,”$19,769 ”
Natural resource law enforcement,12,$20.58 ,”$34,408 ”
Occupational therapy assistant,78,$24.60 ,”$37,739 ”
Office management & supervision,174,$14.58 ,”$24,888 ”
Operations management & supervisor,12,$22.58 ,”$48,753 ”
Ophthalmic technician,5,$17.04 ,”$34,286 ”
Opticianry/ophthalmic dispensing,15,$17.89 ,”$31,310 ”
Pharmacy technician/assistant,174,$16.09 ,”$27,500 ”
Phlebotomy,290,$15.43 ,”$27,007 ”
Physical therapy assistant,110,$23.59 ,”$41,332 ”
Plastics engineer technician,27,$13.64 ,”$28,551 ”
Process machine maintenance & repair,34,$22.59 ,”$50,393 ”
Project management,32,$25.52 ,”$50,936 ”
Radiation & imaging,11,$28.51 ,”$54,198 ”
Radiologic technologist *,71,$29.64 ,”$47,809 ”
Radiologic technologist *,89,$27.65 ,”$46,477 ”
Registered nursing,1533,$31.66 ,”$58,445 ”
Rehabilitation counseling,11,$14.85 ,”$19,340 ”
Respiratory therapy technician,63,$30.65 ,”$51,116 ”
Restaurant/culinary/catering management,10,$23.92 ,”$49,274 ”
Retail management,25,$19.04 ,”$38,661 ”
Sign language interpretation & translation,14,$16.87 ,”$21,622 ”
Social/human services casework,82,$14.31 ,”$26,772 ”
Sports & fitness management,43,$15.36 ,”$21,287 ”
Stationary engineer,23,$20.62 ,”$43,303 ”
Substance abuse/addiction,188,$14.88 ,”$28,598 ”
Surgical technician,104,$22.01 ,”$39,306 ”
Surveying technician,16,$22.37 ,”$46,222 ”
System administration,28,$15.80 ,”$24,733 ”
System/network & LAN/WAN,18,$15.78 ,”$29,995 ”
Telecommunication technician,12,$21.14 ,”$46,060 ”
Tool & die technician,91,$21.63 ,”$46,297 ”
Truck & bus driver,137,$18.34 ,”$37,627 ”
Veterinary assistant/technician,53,$13.62 ,”$26,258 ”
Visual communications,29,$15.89 ,”$24,216 ”
Viticulture & enology,32,$15.22 ,”$32,426 ”
Water quality/wastewater management,17,$33.21 ,”$67,620 ”
Web/multimedia management/webmaster,35,$18.73 ,”$27,915 ”
Welding technician,489,$17.33 ,”$32,581 ”


*Radiologic technology appears on the list twice because different schools coded the field differently, which led to two slightly different hourly and yearly wage figures.