Is a biological and physical sciences degree from Joliet Junior College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 21% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 32%.

Joliet Junior College Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Joliet Junior College biological and physical sciences graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $6,500, which ranks 6th lowest of 22 biological and physical sciences associate's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $69 a month over 10 years.

Associate's in Biological and Physical Sciences
Public college
Joliet, IL
About 112 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Joliet Junior College biological and physical sciences graduates earn more than graduates of most biological and physical sciences programs nationally, $30,509 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $6,500 in federal loans, less than at 81% of biological and physical sciences programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying biological and physical sciences degrees in Illinois.

First-year earnings$30,50981st percentile of 43 programs nationally

Median federal debt$6,5006th lowest of 22 Illinois programs

Debt-to-earnings21%Illinois median 30%, national 32%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all biological and physical sciences associate's programs that report the figure.

	Joliet Junior College	Illinois	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$30,509	$26,547	$26,130
Median federal debt at graduation	$6,500	$8,250	$8,639
Debt as share of first-year pay	21%	30%	32%
Programs compared		23	43

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois biological and physical sciences program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.

Joliet Junior CollegeOther Illinois programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $69 a month, or 2.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $30,509 salary here buys what about $29,450 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 biological and physical sciences, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$79,990

Median pay in Illinois. 44,670 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,020Top 10%: $135,960

Natural Sciences Managers

$159,670

Median pay in Illinois. 2,810 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $85,210Top 10%: $281,660

About Joliet Junior College

In-district tuition and fees	$4,530 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$13,800 / year
Average net price after aid	$1,672 / year
Graduation rate (within 1.5 times the normal program length)	21%
Undergraduate students	9,306

Biological and Physical Sciences ranks 5th of 8 associate's programs at Joliet Junior College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($71,988), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($57,778), and Business Administration ($39,887).

Other biological and physical sciences associate's programs near Joliet

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Joliet Junior CollegeJoliet, IL · public		$30,509	$6,500
Moraine Valley Community CollegePalos Hills, IL · public	22 mi	$23,128	$6,500
College of DuPageGlen Ellyn, IL · public	24 mi	$22,654	$10,664
Waubonsee Community CollegeSugar Grove, IL · public	25 mi	$24,939	$8,067
City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley CollegeChicago, IL · public	29 mi	$33,115	$8,250
Morton CollegeCicero, IL · public	31 mi	$22,435	$6,000
Triton CollegeRiver Grove, IL · public	34 mi	$29,069	$10,984
City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King CollegeChicago, IL · public	34 mi	$21,207	$9,500
City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey CollegeChicago, IL · public	34 mi	$26,939	$5,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $30,509 one year after graduating. The median across biological and physical sciences associate's programs in Illinois is $26,547.

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 Illinois 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 biological and physical sciences 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

Biological and Physical Sciences associate's programs in Illinois, ranked23 programs by pay and debt Biological and Physical Sciences associate's programs in the US, ranked43 programs by pay and debt All Joliet Junior College programs, ranked8 programs by pay and debt