The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office has released comparative salary data for graduates of the California Community Colleges system on a website called Salary Surfer. Not surprisingly, salary rises dramatically after completing a certificate program or two-year degree, regardless of the discipline of study. Technical disciplines like industrial technology, engineering, and allied health have the highest pay after graduation. Biotechnology (including biomanufacturing) graduates also do well:
Note that after two years of employment, biotech A.S. degree graduates earn much higher wages than general biology graduates, and biotech certificate earners do nearly as well as general biology grads. After five years of employment, the median biotech A.S. degree graduate wage is $55,673 – good news for all those pursuing biotech or biomanufacturing degrees right now!
If you expand the degree categories, the site shows community colleges that have programs in that category. For instance, expanding the “Biotechnology and Biomedical Technology” category reveals this:
Laney College has programs in biomanufacturing and medical device manufacturing. As you will discover on Salary Surfer, a potential biotech student has many options to choose from when selecting a college, especially in the Bay Area.
