Rochester Community and Technical College Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
- Public college
- Rochester, MN
- About 17 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Rochester Community and Technical College vehicle maintenance and repair graduates earn about what vehicle maintenance and repair graduates earn nationally, $37,029 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $12,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $10,501. Several Minnesota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Rochester Community and Technical College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $1,673 more than the Minnesota median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota vehicle maintenance and repair program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota 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 46% 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 $127 a month, or 4.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
96% of graduates (22 of 23) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the Rochester area are about 9% below the national average, so a $37,029 salary here buys what about $40,771 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
$58,390Median pay in Minnesota. 11,980 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$87,160Median pay in Minnesota. 9,110 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$66,840Median pay in Minnesota. 7,300 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$52,210Median pay in Minnesota. 3,430 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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 Rochester Community and Technical College
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair ranks 4th of 5 certificate programs at Rochester Community and Technical College by first-year earnings. The top three are Construction Finishing and Inspection ($61,196), Health and Medical Administration ($45,675), and Practical Nursing ($42,200).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $37,029 one year after graduating and $54,143 five years after. The median across vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs in Minnesota is $41,672.
The median federal loan balance is $12,000, which ranks 6th lowest of 10 vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $127 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 32% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 29%. Compare the cost with other Minnesota programs before deciding.
Most do. 96% (22 of 23) were working in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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