Is a allied health and medical assisting degree from Lake Washington Institute of Technology worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 50%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Washington programs report higher pay.

Lake Washington Institute of Technology Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Lake Washington Institute of Technology allied health and medical assisting graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $20,335, which ranks 6th lowest of 7 allied health and medical assisting associate's programs in Washington. That works out to about $216 a month over 10 years.

Q: Do Lake Washington Institute of Technology allied health and medical assisting graduates stay in Washington?

Most do. 88% (38 of 43) were working in Washington one year after graduating.

Associate's in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Public school
Kirkland, WA
About 35 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Lake Washington Institute of Technology allied health and medical assisting graduates earn more than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $45,385 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $20,335 in federal loans, close to the national median of $19,000. Several Washington programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$45,38582nd percentile of 376 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$47,1774% more than year one

Median federal debt$20,3356th lowest of 7 Washington programs

Debt-to-earnings45%Washington median 33%, national 50%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Washington and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting associate's programs that report the figure.

	Lake Washington Institute of Technology	Washington	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$45,385	$43,072	$37,256
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$47,177	$46,579	$41,892
Median federal debt at graduation	$20,335	$18,220	$19,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	45%	33%	50%
Programs compared		13	376

Five years out, Lake Washington Institute of Technology graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Washington median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington allied health and medical assisting program

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

Lake Washington Institute of TechnologyOther Washington programs

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 4% between the first and fifth year.

Lake Washington Institute of Technology grads, year 1$45,385

Lake Washington Institute of Technology grads, year 5$47,177

All Washington allied health and medical assisting grads, year 5$46,579

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 $216 a month, or 5.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (34 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	20–39%

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

88% of graduates (38 of 43) were working in Washington one year after graduating. Prices in the Seattle area are about 11% above the national average, so a $45,385 salary here buys what about $40,838 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 allied health and medical assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Medical Assistants

$59,290

Median pay in Washington. 19,500 people work in this job in Washington. 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.

Bottom 10%: $46,540Top 10%: $74,200

Pharmacy Technicians

$58,900

Median pay in Washington. 8,150 people work in this job in Washington. 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.

Bottom 10%: $47,270Top 10%: $79,090

Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians

$72,760

Median pay in Washington. 7,430 people work in this job in Washington. 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.

Bottom 10%: $46,780Top 10%: $112,020

Surgical Technologists

$77,270

Median pay in Washington. 2,510 people work in this job in Washington. 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.

Bottom 10%: $55,270Top 10%: $103,690

About Lake Washington Institute of Technology

In-state tuition and fees	$5,997 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$12,062 / year
Average net price after aid	$6,817 / year
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	37%
Undergraduate students	2,406

Allied Health and Medical Assisting ranks 2nd of 3 associate's programs at Lake Washington Institute of Technology by first-year earnings. The others are Nursing ($83,313) and Teacher Education ($33,869).

Other allied health and medical assisting associate's programs near Kirkland

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Lake Washington Institute of TechnologyKirkland, WA · public		$45,385	$20,335
Highline CollegeDes Moines, WA · public	23 mi	$50,468	$7,197
Tacoma Community CollegeTacoma, WA · public	36 mi	$58,382	$18,220
Clover Park Technical CollegeLakewood, WA · public	40 mi	$43,425	$14,405

Common questions

The median graduate earns $45,385 one year after graduating and $47,177 five years after. The median across allied health and medical assisting associate's programs in Washington is $43,072.

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 Washington 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

Allied Health and Medical Assisting associate's programs in Washington, ranked13 programs by pay and debt Allied Health and Medical Assisting associate's programs in the US, ranked376 programs by pay and debt All Lake Washington Institute of Technology programs, ranked4 programs by pay and debt