US College Programs

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate) Programs in Virginia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 9 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 also report federal debt
  • Certificate in Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Virginia vehicle maintenance and repair certificate program pays its graduates $35,887 in their first year, $18 less than the national median. Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Norfolk reports the highest first-year pay ($44,572), and Tidewater Community College the lowest median debt ($7,000).

Median first-year pay$35,887National $35,905
Median pay after 5 years$48,876National $44,862
Median federal debt$14,750National $10,501
Debt-to-earnings48%National 29%

All 9 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.

Blue Ridge Community College (Virginia), Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Highlands Community College, and Virginia Western Community College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia vehicle maintenance and repair program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Norfolk$44,572
  2. Blue Ridge Community College (Virginia)$41,801
  3. Advanced Technology Institute$38,942
  4. Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Manassas$36,285
  5. Northern Virginia Community College$35,887

Lowest median debt

  1. Tidewater Community College$7,000
  2. Advanced Technology Institute$14,619
  3. Tidewater Tech-Trades$14,750
  4. Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Norfolk$29,728
  5. Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Manassas$32,500

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Tidewater Community College20%
  2. Advanced Technology Institute38%
  3. Tidewater Tech-Trades48%
  4. Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Norfolk67%
  5. Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Manassas90%

"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 vehicle maintenance and repair, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics

$59,330

Median pay in Virginia. 17,880 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $36,540Top 10%: $92,570

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers

$80,770

Median pay in Virginia. 16,910 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $52,030Top 10%: $122,590

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

$61,090

Median pay in Virginia. 8,070 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $45,250Top 10%: $79,150

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

$49,880

Median pay in Virginia. 4,130 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $36,160Top 10%: $71,360

Common questions

Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Norfolk in Norfolk reports the highest median first-year pay, $44,572. Its median federal debt is $29,728.

Related pages

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked223 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 Virginia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the vehicle maintenance and repair 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024