CEM College-San Juan Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
- Private for-profit college
- San Juan, PR
- About 16 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
CEM College-San Juan allied health and medical assisting graduates earn less than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $11,714 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $3,500 in federal loans, less than at more than 99% of allied health and medical assisting programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Puerto Rico median of $12,093.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Puerto Rico and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, CEM College-San Juan graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,027 less than the Puerto Rico median. Several Puerto Rico programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Puerto Rico allied health and medical assisting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Puerto Rico medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 40% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $37 a month, or 3.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
82% of graduates (28 of 34) were working in Puerto Rico one year after graduating.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to allied health and medical assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical Assistants
$46,120Median pay in Puerto Rico. 660 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 109,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Pharmacy Technicians
$29,520Median pay in Puerto Rico. 5,820 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 44,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
$37,790Median pay in Puerto Rico. 3,390 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 20,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Surgical Technologists
$30,600Median pay in Puerto Rico. 1,080 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
About CEM College-San Juan
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ranks 2nd of 2 associate's programs at CEM College-San Juan by first-year earnings. The other is Nursing ($14,275).
Other allied health and medical assisting associate's programs near San Juan
Common questions
The median graduate earns $11,714 one year after graduating and $16,384 five years after. The median across allied health and medical assisting associate's programs in Puerto Rico is $12,093.
The median federal loan balance is $3,500, which ranks the lowest of 8 allied health and medical assisting associate's programs in Puerto Rico. That works out to about $37 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 30% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 50%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Puerto Rico programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 82% (28 of 34) were working in Puerto Rico one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Puerto Rico comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the allied health and medical assisting program.
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
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024