ROI Major

Dental Support Services and Allied Professions at Eastern Gateway Community College

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.06

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Dental Support Services and Allied Professions degree from Eastern Gateway Community College earn a median salary of $39,593 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $43,943. The degree typically pays for itself in 42.7 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

$29,074

Typical Career

$39,593

Top Performers

$55,181

Estimated break-even: 42.7 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$264

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,299. Most students can comfortably afford about a $264 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Ohio buys what costs $0.90 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Retail Trade, Administrative & Support Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 63.8%
Retail Trade 6.7%
Administrative & Support Services 5.9%

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

$43,943

Nominal: $39,593 in Ohio (COL 90.1% of national avg) · 11% higher 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).

42.7 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 $23,771 $31,012 $42,812
5 Years After Graduation $29,074 $39,593 $55,181
10 Years After Graduation $32,101 $43,588 $56,170

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 $39,593 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in OH, which has a cost-of-living index of 90.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $39,593 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $43,943 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Dental Support Services and Allied Professions program at Eastern Gateway Community College can expect a steady increase in median earnings over time. One year after graduation, the median earnings stand at $31,012, rising to $39,593 after five years and reaching $43,588 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $43,943.4, indicating that graduates can maintain a competitive income relative to the national average despite the lower cost of living in Ohio.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly in Health Care & Social Assistance, accounting for 63.8% of employment, with an additional 36.2% in related sectors. Retail Trade also represents a notable 13.0% of placements. While the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 42.7 years, the long-term career prospects and earnings growth suggest a reasonable return on investment for students pursuing this field.

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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.