Texas State Technical College Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians
- Public college
- Waco, TX
- About 251 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Texas State Technical College vehicle maintenance and repair graduates earn about what vehicle maintenance and repair graduates earn nationally, $33,599 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,334 in federal loans, less than at 79% of vehicle maintenance and repair programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying vehicle maintenance and repair programs in Texas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Texas State Technical College graduates earn about the national figure but about $6,079 less than the Texas median. Several Texas programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas vehicle maintenance and repair program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas 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 33% 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 $8,097 less in their first year than other graduates. 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 $78 a month, or 2.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
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
95% of graduates (227 of 240) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the Waco area are about 7% below the national average, so a $33,599 salary here buys what about $36,304 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
$48,310Median pay in Texas. 69,750 people work in this job in Texas. 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
$76,760Median pay in Texas. 75,340 people work in this job in Texas. 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
$58,810Median pay in Texas. 29,870 people work in this job in Texas. 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
$46,750Median pay in Texas. 16,600 people work in this job in Texas. 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 Texas State Technical College
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair ranks 8th of 11 certificate programs at Texas State Technical College by first-year earnings. The top three are Electromechanical Technology ($68,052), Electrician Training ($56,597), and Industrial Technology ($54,068).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,599 one year after graduating and $44,695 five years after. The median across vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs in Texas is $37,167.
The median federal loan balance is $7,334, which ranks 2nd lowest of 10 vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs in Texas. That works out to about $78 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 22% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 29%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Texas programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 95% (227 of 240) were working in Texas 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 Texas 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