ROI Major

Psychology, General at Saint Philip's College

TX · Associate's Degree · CIP 42.01

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Psychology, General degree from Saint Philip's College earn a median salary of $39,975 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $43,404. The degree typically pays for itself in 19.2 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

$29,236

Typical Career

$39,975

Top Performers

$54,404

Estimated break-even: 19.2 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$267

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,331. Most students can comfortably afford about a $267 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x 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, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 36.0%
Educational Services 11.1%
Retail Trade 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

$43,404

Nominal: $39,975 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).

19.2 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 $19,369 $27,693 $46,093
5 Years After Graduation $29,236 $39,975 $54,404
10 Years After Graduation $39,196 $53,343 $69,584

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 $39,975 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)
= $39,975 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $43,404 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

The earnings trajectory for graduates of the Psychology, General program at Saint Philip's College shows a steady increase over time. One year after graduation, the median earnings stand at $27,693, rising to $39,975 after five years, and reaching $53,343 a decade post-graduation. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of $43,403.91, reflecting the cost of living in Texas, which has a COL index of 0.921 compared to the national average of 1.0.

Graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with 75.5% of them finding employment in this field. This concentration indicates a strong alignment between the program and industry needs. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 19.2 years, suggesting that while the return on investment may take time to materialize, the long-term career prospects within these industries are promising for those pursuing a degree in psychology.

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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.