ROI Major

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Mountain View College

TX · Associate's Degree · CIP 24.01

Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities degree from Mountain View College earn a median salary of $51,018 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $55,394. The degree typically pays for itself in 11.1 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

$36,348

Typical Career

$51,018

Top Performers

$69,360

Estimated break-even: 11.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$340

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,252. Most students can comfortably afford about a $340 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x 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: Educational Services, Health Care & Social Assistance, Finance & Insurance.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Educational Services 21.6%
Health Care & Social Assistance 16.0%
Finance & Insurance 11.0%

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

$55,394

Nominal: $51,018 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).

11.1 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 $25,141 $36,466 $51,132
5 Years After Graduation $36,348 $51,018 $69,360
10 Years After Graduation $48,257 $64,897 $79,482

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 $51,018 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)
= $51,018 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $55,394 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities from Mountain View College experience a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $36,466, which increases to $51,018 after five years and reaches $64,897 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equates to approximately $55,394.14 nationally, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive earning potential despite regional cost-of-living differences, as Texas has a cost-of-living index of 0.921 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The top industries for graduates include Educational Services, which employs 21.6% of alumni, followed by Health Care & Social Assistance at 16.0% and a second segment of Educational Services at 12.4%. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately 11.1 years, suggesting that the investment in education can yield a favorable return over time. Overall, the data indicates that pursuing a degree in this field can lead to substantial long-term benefits in both earnings and career opportunities.

Compare with Another School

See how the Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities degree at Mountain View College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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Other Degrees at Mountain View College

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.