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Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

11 Colleges
$8,318 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,159 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Precision Metal Working Associate Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 52,308 precision metal working students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #7 most popular in the country.

There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 11 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for precision metal working students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Check out the precision metal working associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Bellingham Technical College the best value school in the Far Western US Region for precision metal working students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Bellingham, Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute are $5,227 per year.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Spokane Community College is a great value for precision metal working students working on their associate degree. Spokane Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Spokane.

Spokane Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,135 in tuition and fees each year. On average, precision metal working graduates from Spokane Community College take out $14,234 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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The excellent associate degree programs at Clover Park Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value precision metal working schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the small city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public college with a small student population.

CPTC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,740 in tuition and fees each year. On average, precision metal working graduates from CPTC take out $20,967 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Precision Metal Working at Clover Park Technical College Report

#4

Lower Columbia College

Longview, WA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lower Columbia College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. LCC is a small public school located in the small city of Longview.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LCC are $5,403 per year. Precision Metal Working majors at LCC take out an average of $16,040 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Precision Metal Working at Lower Columbia College Report

#5

Skagit Valley College

Mount Vernon, WA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Skagit Valley College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the small city of Mount Vernon, Skagit Valley College is a public school with a small student population.

Skagit Valley College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,507 in tuition and fees each year. On average, precision metal working graduates from Skagit Valley College take out $16,233 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Precision Metal Working at Skagit Valley College Report

With a ranking of #6, Lake Washington Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best value schools for precision metal working students working on their associate degree. LWTech is a small public school located in the suburb of Kirkland.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LWTech are $10,146 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, precision metal working graduates from LWTech carry an average student debtload of $17,405.

Read full report on Precision Metal Working at Lake Washington Institute of Technology

Portland Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Portland Community College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Portland.

Portland Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $9,670 in tuition and fees each year. Precision Metal Working majors at Portland Community College take out an average of $19,673 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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With a ranking of #8, Everett Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for precision metal working students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Everett, Everett Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Everett Community College are $9,597 a year.

Read full report on Precision Metal Working at Everett Community College

#9

Clark College

Vancouver, WA

Clark College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Clark College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Vancouver.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clark College are $10,133 per year. The average amount in student loans that precision metal working majors at Clark College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $13,228.

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#10

Olympic College

Bremerton, WA

Olympic College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. OC is a small public school located in the small city of Bremerton.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at OC are $9,638 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, precision metal working majors at OC accumulate an average of around $15,822 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, OC also did well on our Best Precision Metal Working Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Precision Metal Working at Olympic College Report

Best Precision Metal Working Colleges by State

Explore the best precision metal working colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,172
California 2,491
Oregon 399
Nevada 336
Alaska 55
Hawaii 41

Precision Metal Working is one of 5 different types of trade school programs to choose from.

Precision Metal Working Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Welding Technology/Welder 42,490
Machine Tool Technology/Machinist 3,285
Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machinist Technology/CNC Machinist 2,689
Machine Shop Technology/Assistant 1,921
Tool & Die Technology/Technician 584
Metal Fabricator 430
Ironworking/Ironworker 316
Other Precision Metal Working 314
Sheet Metal Technology/Sheetworking 279

Majors Similar to Precision Metal Working

Related Major Annual Graduates
Woodworking 423
Other Precision Production 68
Leatherworking & Upholstery 54
Precision Production Trades 39
Boilermaking 13

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 11 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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