Food Science and Technology programs in California
23 schools in California teach this, at certificate or associate level. The Department of Education publishes earnings for none of them, so the figures below are what the occupation itself pays.
What this work pays in California
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in California earn a median of $52,910 a year across 14,210 jobs. That is what the occupation pays everyone in it — not what graduates of any one program below earned.
| Also leads to | Median | Jobs in California |
|---|---|---|
| Food Batchmakers | $41,670 | 12,560 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | $56,280 | 10,450 |
| Food Science Technicians | $54,200 | 3,990 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | $93,950 | 2,210 |
| Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers | $109,140 | 1,650 |
Occupation wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.
Schools
| School | Credential | Median debt | Graduate earnings, 2 yrs | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan Hancock College Santa Maria | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 1 |
| Allan Hancock College Santa Maria | Associate's degree | — | not published | 9 |
| Bakersfield College Bakersfield | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | — |
| Bakersfield College Bakersfield | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Coalinga College Coalinga | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | — |
| College of the Canyons Santa Clarita | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 1 |
| College of the Sequoias Visalia | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 1 |
| Cuesta College San Luis Obispo | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | — |
| Cuyamaca College El Cajon | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Folsom Lake College Folsom | Associate's degree | — | not published | — |
| Hartnell College Salinas | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 16 |
| Las Positas College Livermore | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Las Positas College Livermore | Associate's degree | — | not published | 0 |
| MiraCosta College Oceanside | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 1 |
| MiraCosta College Oceanside | Associate's degree | — | not published | 1 |
| Mt San Jacinto Community College District San Jacinto | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Napa Valley College Napa | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 5 |
| Napa Valley College Napa | Associate's degree | — | not published | 10 |
| Reedley College Reedley | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 1 |
| San Diego Mesa College San Diego | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| San Diego Mesa College San Diego | Associate's degree | — | not published | 0 |
| Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 13 |
| Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa | Associate's degree | — | not published | 18 |
A dash under earnings or debt means the U.S. Department of Education has not published a figure for that program — it withholds any median computed from too few graduates, which covers about four of every five programs. It never means zero, and it says nothing about whether the program is any good. Where a figure is shown, the number of graduates behind it is shown with it.
Email me when these figures change
The U.S. Department of Education publishes new cost, debt and earnings figures once a year, and every number on this page changes at once. One email when that happens for Food Science and Technology — nothing else, and nothing in between.
Program and outcome figures: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, released 2026-06-10.