Chattanooga State Community College Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
- Public college
- Chattanooga, TN
- About 57 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Chattanooga State Community College diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn about what diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn nationally, $53,180 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $16,760 in federal loans, close to the national median of $13,230. It is one of the higher-paying diagnostic and treatment professions programs in Tennessee.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Tennessee and national columns are the medians across all diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Chattanooga State Community College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $9,755 less than the Tennessee median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee diagnostic and treatment professions program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Tennessee 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 falls about 23% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $19,036 against $13,400.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $178 a month, or 4.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
69% of graduates (87 of 127) were working in Tennessee one year after graduating. Prices in the Chattanooga area are about 9% below the national average, so a $53,180 salary here buys what about $58,143 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 diagnostic and treatment professions, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
$64,630Median pay in Tennessee. 4,660 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Emergency Medical Technicians
$40,330Median pay in Tennessee. 3,860 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Physician Assistants
$118,240Median pay in Tennessee. 2,240 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Respiratory Therapists
$72,140Median pay in Tennessee. 3,440 people work in this job in Tennessee. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Chattanooga State Community College
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ranks 2nd of 14 certificate programs at Chattanooga State Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Heavy Equipment Maintenance ($54,588), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($53,180), and Truck Driving and Equipment Operation ($48,579).
Other diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs near Chattanooga
Common questions
The median graduate earns $53,180 one year after graduating and $40,983 five years after. The median across diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs in Tennessee is $40,825.
The median federal loan balance is $16,760, which ranks 9th lowest of 10 diagnostic and treatment professions certificate programs in Tennessee. That works out to about $178 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 32% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 28%. Compare the cost with other Tennessee programs before deciding.
Most do. 69% (87 of 127) were working in Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 diagnostic and treatment professions 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