CET-San Jose Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
- Private nonprofit school
- San Jose, CA
- About 23 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
CET-San Jose vehicle maintenance and repair graduates earn less than graduates of most vehicle maintenance and repair programs nationally, $26,336 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,257 in federal loans, less than at 80% of vehicle maintenance and repair programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the California median of $40,206.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, CET-San Jose graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,687 less than the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California vehicle maintenance and repair program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California 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 49% 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 $77 a month, or 3.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
100% of graduates (50 of 50) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Jose area are about 10% above the national average, so a $26,336 salary here buys what about $23,850 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to vehicle maintenance and repair, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
$64,980Median pay in California. 65,420 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
$93,660Median pay in California. 51,670 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 48,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
$73,950Median pay in California. 20,940 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
$52,950Median pay in California. 11,570 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 15,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About CET-San Jose
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair ranks 8th of 12 certificate programs at CET-San Jose by first-year earnings. The top three are Electronics Repair ($42,828), HVAC ($35,970), and Housing and Human Environments ($35,261).
Other vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs near San Jose
Common questions
The median graduate earns $26,336 one year after graduating and $39,279 five years after. The median across vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs in California is $40,206.
The median federal loan balance is $7,257, which ranks the lowest of 7 vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs in California. That works out to about $77 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 28% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 29%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 100% (50 of 50) were working in California 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 California 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 vehicle maintenance and repair 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