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Is my degree worth it?

See when a qualification pays for itself, how far ahead you'll be at 10/20/30 years, and the value in today's money — using your own salary assumptions.

Calculator education

Logic updated April 2026

This calculator compares two earnings paths over a long horizon: with a degree (after a study period during which you don't earn but pay tuition) and without a degree (earning from year one). It surfaces the cumulative dollar advantage year by year and reports the year — if any — when the with-degree path overtakes the no-degree path. It's a modelling tool, not a forecast — it projects what your own salary assumptions imply.

How this is calculated

Formula 

withDegree(year): if year ≤ studyDuration → −educationCost / studyDuration ; else → startingSalary × (1 + g)^(year − studyDuration − 1) ; noDegree(year): salary × (1 + g)^(year − 1)

Step-by-step

  1. During the study years, the with-degree path subtracts education cost evenly across each year (negative cashflow)
  2. After graduation, the with-degree path starts earning the user-supplied starting salary, growing at the salary growth rate
  3. The no-degree path earns from year 1, growing at the same rate
  4. Each year, calculate the gap (with-degree income minus no-degree income) and add it to the cumulative advantage
  5. If a discount rate is supplied, discount each year's cashflow back to present value: cashflow ÷ (1 + r)^year
  6. Identify the break-even year — the first year cumulative advantage turns positive
Rounding mode
ROUND_HALF_UP
Precision
20-digit internal precision (Decimal.js), rounded to 2 decimal places for display
Logic last reviewed

Assumptions & limitations

What this calculator assumes

  • Modelling tool — projections reflect the user's own salary assumptions, not labour-market forecasts
  • Both paths grow at the same annual salary growth rate
  • Education cost is spread evenly across the study period
  • The without-degree path begins earning in year 1; the with-degree path begins earning the year after graduation
  • No taxation, no jurisdictional repayment thresholds

What this calculator doesn’t account for

  • Salary assumptions are user-supplied — the calculator can't verify they're realistic
  • Doesn't model career progression dynamics (degree-required promotions, certification requirements)
  • Doesn't capture non-financial benefits (network, intellectual development, life satisfaction)
  • Doesn't include risk of not completing the degree or not finding work in the field
  • Doesn't factor in inflation — use the discount rate input to approximate real returns

Worked example

A prospective student compares spending 4 years on a degree at $25,000/year of total cost (tuition + living above what they'd otherwise pay), expecting a $70,000 starting salary growing 3% a year, vs a $40,000 starting non-degree job growing 3% a year, projecting 30 years.

Input Value
Education cost $100,000 ($25k × 4 years)
Study duration 4 years
Salary with degree $70,000
Salary without degree $40,000
Salary growth 3%/year
Projection horizon 30 years

Break-even year: ~9 — Cumulative advantage by year 30: ~$1.1M

Years 1–4: with-degree is at -$25k/year; no-degree is +$40k → no-degree leads by ~$260k. After graduation, with-degree earns $30k/year more, growing with salaries. Around year 9 the cumulative advantage flips positive. By year 30 the with-degree path is ahead by roughly $1.1M of cumulative earnings — a substantial gap, but contingent on the salary assumptions actually playing out.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate the return on education?

Compare lifetime earnings under two paths: with the degree (including the cost) vs without it. The 'return' is the cumulative earnings gap at a future year. This calculator does the year-by-year math and surfaces the break-even year. The headline number depends entirely on the salary inputs you provide — small changes in the salary premium make big differences over 30 years.

What costs should I include?

Direct costs: tuition, books, mandatory fees. Living costs that wouldn't otherwise apply (e.g., moving for university). And the opportunity cost — the income you'd have earned in those study years. The calculator handles the first two via the education cost input; for the third, see the study opportunity cost calculator. A complete view bundles all three.

How long until my degree pays for itself?

The break-even year — when cumulative degree earnings overtake cumulative non-degree earnings. Typical estimates land between year 7 and year 12 after starting study, depending heavily on the salary premium. Lower-premium degrees (or expensive ones) can take 15+ years; high-premium degrees in well-paid fields sometimes break even within 5 years of graduation. The calculator gives the answer specific to your inputs.

What if the degree never breaks even financially?

It happens — particularly when the salary premium is small, the degree is expensive, or the projection horizon is short. The calculator surfaces this case explicitly. Non-financial reasons for the degree (passion, network, professional licensing, intellectual development) may still justify it, but you should make that call with eyes open. The calculator is a financial-only view; the full decision involves more.

Should I include inflation?

If you want today's-dollar comparisons, set the discount rate to your assumed inflation rate (typically 2–3%). That converts future earnings into present-value figures, which makes the break-even and cumulative advantage more meaningful in current purchasing power. Setting discount rate to 0 gives you nominal future dollars — bigger numbers, less honest about what they'll buy.

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