ROI Major

Dental Support Services and Allied Professions at Indiana University - Northwest

IN · Bachelor's Degree · CIP 51.06

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Dental Support Services and Allied Professions degree from Indiana University - Northwest earn a median salary of $63,874 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IN, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $70,657. The degree typically pays for itself in 7.3 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

$46,024

Typical Career

$63,874

Top Performers

$72,871

Estimated break-even: 7.3 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$426

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,323. Most students can comfortably afford about a $426 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.6x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.8x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Indiana buys what costs $0.90 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Bachelor's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 33.3%
Educational Services 14.9%
Public Administration 8.1%

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

$70,657

Nominal: $63,874 in Indiana (COL 90.4% of national avg) · 10.6% 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).

7.3 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 $40,446 $53,202 $63,557
5 Years After Graduation $46,024 $63,874 $72,871
10 Years After Graduation

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 $63,874 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IN, which has a cost-of-living index of 90.4% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $63,874 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9040) = $70,657 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 Indiana University - Northwest experience a gradual increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $28,392, rising to $37,811 five years post-graduation, and slightly increasing to $38,050 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent is approximately $41,826.33 nationally, indicating that while initial earnings may be modest, the long-term financial outlook remains stable, albeit with limited growth after the five-year mark.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, with 62.1% of graduates working in this sector after one year, 44.3% after five years, and 33.3% after ten years. Given the estimated break-even point of more than ten years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for this degree may be less favorable for some students. While the field offers stable employment opportunities, prospective students should weigh the long-term financial implications against their career aspirations and alternative educational paths.

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See how the Dental Support Services and Allied Professions degree at Indiana University - Northwest 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.