ROI Major

Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at North Central State College

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.04

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Operations Support and Assistant Services degree from North Central State College earn a median salary of $35,940 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $39,889. 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

$26,154

Typical Career

$35,940

Top Performers

$46,142

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

Debt-to-Income Check

$240

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $2,995. Most students can comfortably afford about a $240 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 0.9x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Ohio buys what costs $0.90 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 42.2%
Manufacturing 14.4%
Public Administration 7.4%

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

$39,889

Nominal: $35,940 in Ohio (COL 90.1% of national avg) · 11% 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).

>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 $23,987 $28,247 $32,754
5 Years After Graduation $26,154 $35,940 $46,142
10 Years After Graduation $30,856 $38,592 $51,828

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 $35,940 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in OH, which has a cost-of-living index of 90.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $35,940 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $39,889 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Business Operations Support and Assistant Services program at North Central State College experience a gradual increase in earnings over time. One year after graduation, the median earnings stand at $28,247, which rises to $35,940 after five years and reaches $38,592 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equates to approximately $39,889.01 on a national scale, indicating that while initial earnings may be modest, there is potential for growth in real income over time, particularly in a state with a cost of living index of 0.901.

The majority of graduates find employment in the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with 73.5% entering this field within one year of graduation. This trend persists, as 42.2% and 36.7% remain in similar roles after five and ten years, respectively. However, the estimated break-even point for this educational path compared to a high school-only route exceeds ten years, suggesting that while the program may lead to stable employment in a growing industry, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize.

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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.