ROI Major

Library and Archives Assisting at Three Rivers Community College

CT · Associate's Degree · CIP 25.03

Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Library and Archives Assisting degree from Three Rivers Community College earn a median salary of $39,998 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in CT, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $34,690. 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

$28,777

Typical Career

$39,998

Top Performers

$55,464

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

Debt-to-Income Check

$267

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,333. 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 Connecticut buys what costs $1.15 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 25.8%
Educational Services 14.6%
Accommodation & Food Services 11.8%

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

$34,690

Nominal: $39,998 in Connecticut (COL 115.3% of national avg) · 13.3% lower 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 $22,688 $30,324 $41,695
5 Years After Graduation $28,777 $39,998 $55,464
10 Years After Graduation $30,437 $36,674 $49,855

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 $39,998 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in CT, which has a cost-of-living index of 115.3% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $39,998 × (1.0 ÷ 1.1530) = $34,690 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 Library and Archives Assisting program at Three Rivers Community College shows a modest increase over time. One year after graduation, the median earnings are $30,324, rising to $39,998 five years later. However, by the ten-year mark, median earnings decrease to $36,674. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent is $34,690.37, indicating that while initial earnings may seem promising, the long-term financial outlook may not keep pace with inflation, particularly in Connecticut, where the cost of living is higher than the national average.

Graduates primarily enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, which account for 32.9% and 25.8% of employment, respectively, followed by Manufacturing at 19.4%. This distribution suggests that while there are opportunities in stable industries, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path exceeds ten years. Therefore, prospective students should carefully consider the return on investment, as the financial benefits of this program may take considerable time to materialize, especially given the relatively low median earnings in the initial years post-graduation.

Compare with Another School

See how the Library and Archives Assisting degree at Three Rivers Community College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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Other Degrees at Three Rivers Community 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.