Certificate (under 1 year)+8% vs national median462 grads tracked
Culinary Arts and Related Services at College of Lake County
Ranked 7th of 58 certificate (under 1 year) programs in Culinary Arts and Related Services by 5-year earnings.
Median · 1 year out
$28,588
middle 50%: $21,123 – $37,592
Median · 5 years out
$41,469
middle 50%: $29,818 – $54,875
Median · 10 years out
$61,827
middle 50%: $35,872 – $73,614
Salary trajectory
Median earnings vs the national median for Culinary Arts and Related Services (certificate (under 1 year)) graduates.
This program (median)National median, same major & degreeMiddle 50% of graduates
Culinary Arts graduates from this institution earn a median first-year salary of $29k. By year 10, earnings increase to approximately $62k.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau PSEO, release V4.13.0 2025Q4. Earnings are for graduates working in covered states; figures are medians in nominal dollars.
Will the degree pay for itself?
Drag the sliders — payback uses this program's actual salary curve.
Assumes a 6.5% APR loan and this program's median salary trajectory (interpolated between years 1, 5 and 10).
Paid off in
9.7 yrs
≈ $12,185 total interest
Same major at other universities
Dallas College
$48,158 · 5 yrs out
Cincinnati State Technical & Community College
$46,702 · 5 yrs out
Austin Community College
$43,463 · 5 yrs out
Hennepin Technical College
$42,505 · 5 yrs out
College Of DuPage
$42,446 · 5 yrs out
San Jacinto Community College District
$42,114 · 5 yrs out
Del Mar College
$41,244 · 5 yrs out
Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana - Region 2
$40,922 · 5 yrs out
William Rainey Harper College
$40,883 · 5 yrs out
Greenville Technical College
$40,883 · 5 yrs out
Bunker Hill Community College
$40,883 · 5 yrs out
City Colleges of Chicago - Harold Washington College
$40,820 · 5 yrs out
Other majors at College of Lake County
Fire Protection (Associate)
$112,340 · 5 yrs out
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Certificate)
$86,717 · 5 yrs out
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Certificate)
$86,086 · 5 yrs out
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Certificate)
$85,430 · 5 yrs out
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate)
$80,647 · 5 yrs out
Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Certificate)
$78,110 · 5 yrs out
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians (Associate)
$76,582 · 5 yrs out
Computer Programming (Associate)
$76,015 · 5 yrs out
Health Professions and Related Programs (Associate)
$74,878 · 5 yrs out
Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) (Associate)
$74,872 · 5 yrs out
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services (Associate)
$74,872 · 5 yrs out
Engineering (Associate)
$74,301 · 5 yrs out