ROI Major

Teacher Education, Specific Levels and Methods at Kilgore College

TX · Associate's Degree · CIP 13.12

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Teacher Education, Specific Levels and Methods degree from Kilgore College earn a median salary of $42,709 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $46,372. The degree typically pays for itself in 22.4 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

$32,492

Typical Career

$42,709

Top Performers

$51,737

Estimated break-even: 22.4 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$285

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,559. 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 Texas buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 37.0%
Educational Services 12.2%
Manufacturing 7.9%

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

$46,372

Nominal: $42,709 in Texas (COL 92.1% of national avg) · 8.6% 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).

22.4 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 $19,345 $25,444 $33,433
5 Years After Graduation $32,492 $42,709 $51,737
10 Years After Graduation $40,450 $49,855 $60,342

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 $42,709 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in TX, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $42,709 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $46,372 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Teacher Education, Specific Levels and Methods program at Kilgore College experience a gradual increase in earnings over time. One year after graduation, the median earnings stand at $25,444, which rises to $42,709 after five years and reaches $49,855 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent is approximately $46,372.42, reflecting the cost of living in Texas, which has a COL index of 0.921 compared to the national average of 1.0. This indicates that while initial earnings may be modest, there is potential for significant financial growth over the years.

The primary industries that graduates enter include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 46.8% of employment, followed by Public Administration at 30.0%. Given the estimated break-even point of approximately 22.4 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for this educational path may be considered moderate. While the earnings trajectory shows promise, prospective students should weigh the time required to achieve financial parity against their career aspirations and job market conditions in their chosen fields.

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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.