Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Truck Driving and Equipment Operation (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Ground Transportation
- Public college
- Valdosta, GA
- About 255 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College truck driving and equipment operation graduates earn about what truck driving and equipment operation graduates earn nationally, $45,696 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $8,272 in federal loans, close to the national median of $7,572. It is one of the higher-paying truck driving and equipment operation programs in Georgia.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Georgia and national columns are the medians across all truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Georgia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia truck driving and equipment operation program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Georgia 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 falls about 19% 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 $88 a month, or 2.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (45 of 49) were working in Georgia one year after graduating. Prices in the Valdosta area are about 12% below the national average, so a $45,696 salary here buys what about $51,768 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 truck driving and equipment operation, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
$57,050Median pay in Georgia. 74,840 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 214,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Light Truck Drivers
$44,050Median pay in Georgia. 26,050 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 107,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
$43,210Median pay in Georgia. 50,260 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 64,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: no formal educational credential.
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
$47,880Median pay in Georgia. 15,700 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 39,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About Wiregrass Georgia Technical College
Truck Driving and Equipment Operation ranks 2nd of 5 certificate programs at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College by first-year earnings. The top three are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($50,801), Truck Driving and Equipment Operation ($45,696), and Practical Nursing ($37,112).
Other truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs near Valdosta
Common questions
The median graduate earns $45,696 one year after graduating and $37,148 five years after. The median across truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs in Georgia is $37,307.
The median federal loan balance is $8,272, which ranks 2nd lowest of 12 truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs in Georgia. That works out to about $88 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 18% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 18%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.
Most do. 92% (45 of 49) were working in Georgia 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 Georgia 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 truck driving and equipment operation 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