SOWELA Technical Community College Industrial Technology (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians
- Public college
- Lake Charles, LA
- About 89 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
SOWELA Technical Community College industrial technology graduates earn more than graduates of most industrial technology programs nationally, $75,239 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,457 in federal loans, less than at 87% of industrial technology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying industrial technology degrees in Louisiana.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Louisiana and national columns are the medians across all industrial technology associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, SOWELA Technical Community College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $44,924 more than the Louisiana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana industrial technology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Louisiana 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 73% 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 $26,271 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $79 a month, or 1.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (108 of 118) were working in Louisiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Lake Charles area are about 14% below the national average, so a $75,239 salary here buys what about $87,638 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 industrial technology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
$62,250Median pay in Louisiana. 13,690 people work in this job in Louisiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 40,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians
$82,990Median pay in Louisiana. 1,000 people work in this job in Louisiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians
$66,120Median pay nationwide. 820 people work in this job in Louisiana. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Semiconductor Processing Technicians
$51,430Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About SOWELA Technical Community College
Industrial Technology ranks 1st of 8 associate's programs at SOWELA Technical Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Industrial Technology ($75,239), Nursing ($72,690), and Electrician Training ($52,083).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $75,239 one year after graduating and $130,442 five years after. The median across industrial technology associate's programs in Louisiana is $56,802.
The median federal loan balance is $7,457, which ranks the lowest of 6 industrial technology associate's programs in Louisiana. That works out to about $79 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 10% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 25%.
Most do. 92% (108 of 118) were working in Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 industrial technology 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