Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production maps to BLS occupations averaging about $50,355, with roughly 96,810 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,334; common paths include Logging Equipment Operators and Agricultural Equipment Operators.
Key Statistics
Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production: what the data shows
Common questions about graphic and printing equipment operator, general production degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a graphic and printing equipment operator, general production degree?
A Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production program is classified under NCES CIP 10.0305 in the Graphic Communications field family (10.03).
A program that generally prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to plan, prepare, and execute a variety of commercial and industrial graphic communications jobs. Includes instruction in the operation and maintenance of mechanical, electronic, and digital graphic, printing, and finishing equipment; and related processes
IPEDS counted 32 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of graphic and printing equipment operator, general production degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 10.03 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects (CIP 10.0304)
- Computer Typography and Composition Equipment Operator (CIP 10.0308)
- Graphic Communications, General (CIP 10.0301)
- Platemaker/Imager (CIP 10.0306)
- Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design (CIP 10.0303)
- Printing Management (CIP 10.0302)
- Printing Press Operator (CIP 10.0307)
How long does it take to get a graphic and printing equipment operator, general production degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 10.0305 in our file:
- 137 Associate (81.1% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 32 Bachelor's (18.9% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Logging Equipment Operators (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a graphic and printing equipment operator, general production degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Logging Equipment Operators | 22,520 | $49,210 |
| Agricultural Equipment Operators | 30,940 | $42,580 |
| Helpers--Production Workers | 167,490 | $38,220 |
| Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 14,590 | $47,450 |
| Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers | 22,170 | $50,620 |
| Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders | 6,590 | $40,160 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a graphic and printing equipment operator, general production degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Graphic Communications bachelor's program family: median debt $45,257, median earnings $43,283 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.78.
About 9.2% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,334 and median net price is $10,113.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,334 Median In-State Public
$38,447 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production majors are, on average, $4,334 for in-state public colleges, and $38,447 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | 53,782 |
| 4 | University of Maryland Global Campus | MD | 49,664 |
| 5 | Miami Dade College | FL | 46,182 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 4 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 5 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 3 | New Mexico State University-Grants | NM | $68 |
| 4 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 5 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production is in PR (32 completions). That state represents about 100.0% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is PR (0.11% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| PR | 32 | 100.0% | 0.11% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 10.03 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects CIP 10.0304
- Computer Typography and Composition Equipment Operator CIP 10.0308
- Graphic Communications, General CIP 10.0301
- Platemaker/Imager CIP 10.0306
- Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design CIP 10.0303
- Printing Management CIP 10.0302
- Printing Press Operator CIP 10.0307
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 10.0305 in the survey year used in our extract (169 total across levels below).
- 137 Associate (81.1% of IPEDS total)
- 32 Bachelor's (18.9% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $50,355. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Logging Equipment Operators | $65,058 | 22,520 |
| Agricultural Equipment Operators | $44,676 | 30,940 |
| Helpers--Production Workers | $46,620 | 167,490 |
| Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $53,782 | 14,590 |
| Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers | $70,337 | 22,170 |
| Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders | $46,908 | 6,590 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Graphic Communications CIP family (22 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production graduate.
- $45,257 median federal loan debt among completers
- $43,283 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.78 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 9.2% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$56,818 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production majors is $56,818.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production majors.
Occupations by Share
96,810 2023 Workforce
The number of Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production.
Age distribution for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
32 Total Degrees Awarded
12 Male (37.50%)
20 Female (62.50%)
Gender distribution of Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
32 Hispanic or Latino (100.00%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production majors.
About
A program that generally prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to plan, prepare, and execute a variety of commercial and industrial graphic communications jobs. Includes instruction in the operation and maintenance of mechanical, electronic, and digital graphic, printing, and finishing equipment; and related processes
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production.
CIP Code
10.0305 - Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $45,257 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $43,283, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.78. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production graduate.
About 9.2% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Women earned 61.8% of 314 Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $50,355. The largest mapped role by headcount is Logging Equipment Operators (22,520 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,334 in-state at public colleges and $38,447 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.