LOS ANGELES — Elijah Calderon, after a yearlong training program at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, is poised to earn about $105,000 annually as a power lineman. Once he becomes a journeyman in three to four years, he stands to make about $165,000 — and potentially much more with overtime.
He had to let go of his high school dream of attending a four-year university because of family finances. But his chosen field in the community college system will propel him to the top 5% of wage earners among recent California college graduates — outearning many who attended the most prestigious universities in the state and the nation.
A Stanford University student graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science makes a median annual income of $75,500 four years after graduation. A UC Berkeley sociology major earns about $64,000 at that four-year snapshot and a UCLA graduate in history, about $47,900, according to a new analysis of federal data by the HEA Group, a research and consulting agency focused on college access.
