Which physical science technology associate's program pays the most?

Lee College in Texas reports the highest first-year pay of the 14 programs ranked here, $94,986. Its median federal debt is $9,598.

How much debt do physical science technology associate's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $11,417 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 24% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Physical Science Technology (Associate's) Programs in the US

14 programs report first-year pay
1 state ranking
Associate's in Physical Science Technologies/Technicians

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median physical science technology associate's program in the US pays its graduates $54,260 in their first year and $95,450 five years after. Texas is the only state with enough programs to rank, with a median of $54,260. The median program leaves its graduates with $11,417 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$54,260Across 14 programs

Median pay after 5 years$95,450Across 16 programs

Median federal debt$11,417Across 14 programs

Debt-to-earnings24%Across 13 programs

All 14 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Lee CollegeBaytown, TX · public	$94,986	$97,866	$122,708	$9,598	10%
2	Kilgore CollegeKilgore, TX · public	$68,335	$70,407	$59,154	$17,208	25%
3	Ashland Community and Technical CollegeAshland, KY · public	$61,539	$68,256	$64,518	$10,867	18%
4	Houston City CollegeHouston, TX · public	$60,612	$62,450	$63,218	$21,740	36%
5	San Jacinto Community CollegePasadena, TX · public	$59,496	$61,300	$87,629	$10,000	17%
6	Del Mar CollegeCorpus Christi, TX · public	$56,948	$58,675	$110,976	$7,000	12%
7	Alvin Community CollegeAlvin, TX · public	$54,543	$56,197	$119,471	$7,839	14%
8	Lone Star College SystemThe Woodlands, TX · public	$53,976	$55,613	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
9	Weber StateOgden, UT · public	$51,384	$51,974	Not reported	$22,442	44%
10	Lamar State College-OrangeOrange, TX · public	$49,932	$51,446	$103,271	$12,000	24%
11	College of the MainlandTexas City, TX · public	$49,694	$51,201	$133,394	$10,500	21%
12	Wharton County Junior CollegeWharton, TX · public	$45,277	$46,650	$122,746	$16,625	37%
13	Texas State Technical CollegeWaco, TX · public	$42,769	$44,066	Not reported	$11,959	28%
14	Lamar Institute of TechnologyBeaumont, TX · public	$42,539	$43,829	$110,839	$15,500	36%

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 14 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state.

One program reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Physical Science Technology (Associate's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's physical science technology associate's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Texas	12	$54,260	$11,959

Programs in 2 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

Del Mar College, TX$7,000
Alvin Community College, TX$7,839
Lee College, TX$9,598
San Jacinto Community College, TX$10,000
College of the Mainland, TX$10,500
Texas State Technical College, TX$11,959
Lamar State College-Orange, TX$12,000
Lamar Institute of Technology, TX$15,500
Wharton County Junior College, TX$16,625
Kilgore College, TX$17,208

Lowest debt for the pay

Only the 11 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to physical science technology, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders

$58,040

Median pay in the US. 139,630 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $37,440Top 10%: $92,250

Chemical Technicians

$60,390

Median pay in the US. 57,540 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $41,740Top 10%: $92,040

Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health

$55,090

Median pay in the US. 34,670 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,170Top 10%: $94,160

Chemical Plant and System Operators

$78,120

Median pay in the US. 16,610 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $48,400Top 10%: $111,930

Common questions

The median physical science technology associate's program in the US pays its graduates $54,260 in their first year and $95,450 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024