ROI Major

Teaching Assistants/Aides at CUNY Bronx Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 13.15

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Teaching Assistants/Aides degree from CUNY Bronx Community College earn a median salary of $42,817 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $32,437. The degree typically pays for itself in 20.8 years.

Quick Insights

Slow Burn / High Debt Risk

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$31,636

Typical Career

$42,817

Top Performers

$53,956

Estimated break-even: 20.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$285

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,568. Most students can comfortably afford about a $285 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.1x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in New York buys what costs $1.32 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Educational Services, Public Administration.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 35.6%
Educational Services 12.4%
Public Administration 9.1%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$32,437

Nominal: $42,817 in New York (COL 132.0% of national avg) · 24.2% lower purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

20.8 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $25,090 $34,877 $45,470
5 Years After Graduation $31,636 $42,817 $53,956
10 Years After Graduation $38,661 $49,450 $62,653

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $42,817 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in NY, which has a cost-of-living index of 132.0% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $42,817 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $32,437 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

The earnings trajectory for Teaching Assistants/Aides at CUNY Bronx Community College shows a steady increase over time. Graduates earn a median of $34,877 one year after graduation, which rises to $42,817 after five years and reaches $49,450 after ten years. However, considering the cost of living in New York, where the COL index is 1.32, the purchasing-power-adjusted salary five years post-graduation is approximately $32,437.12, indicating that while nominal earnings increase, the real value of those earnings may not keep pace with living expenses.

Graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with 35.6% and 23.0% of graduates finding employment in these areas, followed by 17.3% in Retail Trade. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 20.8 years, suggesting that while there is a potential for higher earnings with a degree, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize. Overall, students should weigh the long-term financial benefits against the time and costs associated with obtaining a degree in this field.

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See how the Teaching Assistants/Aides degree at CUNY Bronx Community College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.