Which Ohio welding and machining program has the lowest debt?

Hobart Institute of Welding Technology reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,500, with first-year pay of $45,370.

How much do welding and machining graduates earn in Ohio?

The median across 12 Ohio welding and machining certificate programs is $38,713 in the first year after graduating and $44,014 five years after.

How many welding and machining certificate programs are in Ohio?

12 Ohio programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 9 of them also report federal debt.

Welding and Machining (Certificate) Programs in Ohio, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

12 programs report first-year pay
9 also report federal debt
Certificate in Precision Metal Working

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Ohio welding and machining certificate program pays its graduates $38,713 in their first year, $2,430 more than the national median. Hobart Institute of Welding Technology reports the highest first-year pay ($45,370), and Hobart Institute of Welding Technology the lowest median debt ($5,500).

Median first-year pay$38,713National $36,283

Median pay after 5 years$44,014National $45,062

Median federal debt$6,485National $8,447

Debt-to-earnings16%National 22%

All 12 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Hobart Institute of Welding TechnologyTroy · private nonprofit	$45,370	$53,731	$5,500	12%
2	Butler Technology and Career Development SchoolsMonroe · public	$42,625	Not reported	$6,327	15%
3	Great Oaks Career CampusesCincinnati · public	$41,277	$40,878	$6,078	15%
4	Fortis College-Cuyahoga FallsCuyahoga Falls · private for-profit	$39,990	$39,907	Not reported	Not reported
5	Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical SchoolsGroveport · public	$39,328	$49,765	$6,485	16%
6	Elite Welding AcademyCincinnati · private for-profit	$38,717	$52,408	$9,500	25%
7	Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking CountyNewark · public	$38,709	$52,266	$5,500	14%
8	Warren County Career CenterLebanon · public	$38,389	$46,301	Not reported	Not reported
9	Polaris Career CenterMiddleburg Heights · public	$32,228	$41,199	Not reported	Not reported
10	Ohio Technical CollegeCleveland · private for-profit	$32,154	$45,912	$13,000	40%
11	Stautzenberger College-MaumeeMaumee · private for-profit	$30,807	Not reported	$13,000	42%
12	ETI Technical College of NilesNiles · private for-profit	$27,290	Not reported	$12,255	45%

Fortis College-Cuyahoga Falls, Warren County Career Center, and Polaris Career Center report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio welding and machining program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 9 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Hobart Institute of Welding Technology$45,370
Butler Technology and Career Development Schools$42,625
Great Oaks Career Campuses$41,277
Fortis College-Cuyahoga Falls$39,990
Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools$39,328

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to welding and machining, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

$50,340

Median pay in Ohio. 20,330 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.

Bottom 10%: $38,990Top 10%: $70,510

Machinists

$57,940

Median pay in Ohio. 17,110 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 26,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $38,070Top 10%: $76,530

Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

$45,230

Median pay in Ohio. 13,350 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $35,560Top 10%: $60,770

Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators

$49,160

Median pay in Ohio. 21,250 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $37,170Top 10%: $70,630

Common questions

Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy reports the highest median first-year pay, $45,370. Its median federal debt is $5,500.

Welding and Machining (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked263 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 Ohio rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the welding and machining certificate programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024