ROI Major

Special Education and Teaching at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

WI · Bachelor's Degree · CIP 13.10

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Special Education and Teaching degree from University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh earn a median salary of $54,601 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in WI, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $57,414. The degree typically pays for itself in 10.1 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

$48,410

Typical Career

$54,601

Top Performers

$61,086

Estimated break-even: 10.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$364

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,550. Most students can comfortably afford about a $364 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.4x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Wisconsin buys what costs $0.95 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Bachelor's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 22.7%
Educational Services 17.3%
Manufacturing 10.5%

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

$57,414

Nominal: $54,601 in Wisconsin (COL 95.1% of national avg) · 5.2% 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).

10.1 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 $36,989 $45,565 $51,527
5 Years After Graduation $48,410 $54,601 $61,086
10 Years After Graduation $51,612 $60,148 $68,687

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 $54,601 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in WI, which has a cost-of-living index of 95.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $54,601 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9510) = $57,414 National Average equivalent.

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

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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.