ROI Major

Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at Joliet Junior College

IL · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.04

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Operations Support and Assistant Services degree from Joliet Junior College earn a median salary of $45,075 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $49,101. The degree typically pays for itself in 17.3 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

$35,115

Typical Career

$45,075

Top Performers

$57,769

Estimated break-even: 17.3 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$301

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,756. Most students can comfortably afford about a $301 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.2x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 27.4%
Educational Services 10.2%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 8.6%

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

$49,101

Nominal: $45,075 in Illinois (COL 91.8% of national avg) · 8.9% 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).

17.3 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 $27,814 $38,377 $49,659
5 Years After Graduation $35,115 $45,075 $57,769
10 Years After Graduation $40,680 $51,223 $68,521

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 $45,075 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IL, which has a cost-of-living index of 91.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $45,075 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $49,101 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 Joliet Junior College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $38,377, increasing to $45,075 five years post-graduation and reaching $51,223 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median five-year salary is approximately $49,101.31, indicating that graduates can maintain a competitive standard of living despite regional cost-of-living differences, as Illinois has a cost-of-living index of 0.918 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The program's graduates primarily enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, which accounts for 55.5% of employment, followed by another 27.4% in the same industry and 18.3% in Manufacturing. The estimated break-even point for this educational path versus a high-school-only route is approximately 17.3 years, suggesting that while the initial investment in education may take time to recoup, the long-term benefits in terms of salary and job opportunities in these growing industries can provide a favorable return on investment.

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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.