ROI Major

Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at Genesee Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.04

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Operations Support and Assistant Services degree from Genesee Community College earn a median salary of $37,811 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $28,645. The degree typically pays for itself in over 10 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

$30,712

Typical Career

$37,811

Top Performers

$46,373

Break-even is not clear from the available earnings data.

Debt-to-Income Check

$252

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,151. Most students can comfortably afford about a $252 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 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, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 32.2%
Educational Services 12.1%
Retail Trade 7.8%

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

$28,645

Nominal: $37,811 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).

>10 years (extrapolated) 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 $29,607 $36,427
5 Years After Graduation $30,712 $37,811 $46,373
10 Years After Graduation $26,804 $34,162 $41,940

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 $37,811 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)
= $37,811 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $28,645 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Business Operations Support and Assistant Services program at Genesee Community College can expect a median earning of $29,607 one year after graduation, which increases to $37,811 after five years. However, it is noteworthy that median earnings decrease to $34,162 by the ten-year mark. When considering purchasing power, the adjusted five-year salary is approximately $28,644.7, reflecting the cost of living in New York, which has a COL index of 1.32 compared to the national average of 1.0. This suggests that while initial earnings may appear promising, the long-term financial outlook may be less favorable when adjusted for inflation and living costs.

The primary industries that graduates enter include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 32.2% of employment, followed closely by another segment within the same field at 27.7%, and Educational Services at 14.5%. Given the estimated break-even point of more than ten years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for this program may be limited. Prospective students should weigh these factors carefully against their career goals and financial expectations.

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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.