A $1,000 training program leading to a $37,000 salary. A three-month certificate turning into a health care career within weeks. These aren't outliers—they're the norm for certificate-level health care jobs. This page ranks certificate programs by return on investment, measuring 20-year earnings against every dollar spent on training.
Editorial Team
Certificate programs dominate overall ROI rankings for a simple reason: near-zero investment plus immediate earnings. When a $1,500 CNA program leads to employment in three months, the math is hard to beat—even by careers paying three times as much.
This analysis calculates return on investment for certificate-level health care careers using a 20-year horizon that accounts for education cost, opportunity cost (wages forgone during training), and median salary from BLS OEWS data. Scores are percentile-normalized across all tracked health care careers in our dataset.
Many certificate careers serve as stepping stones—CNAs become RNs, EMTs become paramedics, phlebotomists move into medical lab work. The ROI calculation captures only the initial credential, but the career mobility is a hidden bonus.
This is part of our Best ROI Health Care Careers series. Also see: Associate's Degrees | Graduate Programs
Bubble size = overall score. Y-axis = BLS growth rate. X-axis = months from enrollment to first job.
Certificate-level health care careers with the highest return on educational investment over 20 years.
All certificate-level health care careers ranked by 20-year net earnings.
| Rank ↑ | Career ↕ | 20-Year Net ↕ | Salary ↕ | Growth ↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | EKG/ECG Technician | $1.2M Solid | $63k/yr Above Average | 5.6% Average | View Details |
#2 | Surgical Technologist | $1.1M Solid | $61k/yr Above Average | 5.6% Average | View Details |
#3 | Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) | $1.1M Solid | $60k/yr Average | 4.7% Average | View Details |
#4 | Community Health Worker | $913k Solid | $49k/yr Average | 11.2% Fast | View Details |
#5 | Medical Billing and Coding Specialist | $903k Solid | $49k/yr Average | 7.8% Fast | View Details |
#6 | Dialysis Technician | $867k Solid | $44k/yr Average | 5.0% Average | View Details |
#7 | Dental Assistant | $835k Solid | $45k/yr Average | 7.3% Fast | View Details |
#8 | Phlebotomist | $833k Solid | $42k/yr Average | 7.5% Fast | View Details |
#9 | Medical Assistant | $813k Solid | $42k/yr Average | 14.8% Fast | View Details |
#10 | Medical Administrative Assistant | $813k Solid | $42k/yr Average | 7.8% Fast | View Details |
#11 | Pharmacy Technician | $784k Solid | $40k/yr Average | 4.1% Average | View Details |
#12 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) | $767k Solid | $39k/yr Average | 5.1% Average | View Details |
#13 | Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) | $762k Solid | $38k/yr Average | 4.3% Average | View Details |
#14 | Medical Transcriptionist | $730k Modest | $37k/yr Average | -6.6% Declining | View Details |
#15 | Home Health Aide | $670k Modest | $34k/yr Average | 17.4% Very Fast | View Details |
#16 | Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) / Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) | — | — | 4.7% Average | View Details |
#17 | Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) / Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) | — | — | 4.7% Average | View Details |
The 20-Year Net Earnings figure is calculated using a year-by-year model starting from enrollment. During the training period (typically 2–15 months for certificates), income is $0. After training, salary follows a trajectory from entry-level (BLS 25th percentile) through mid-career (50th percentile) to experienced (75th percentile). The net figure is total income minus average education cost over the 20-year window. Rankings are sorted by 20-year net earnings, showing the absolute dollar return over a career's first two decades.