General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations: is this bachelor's degree worth it?
National picture across 30 reporting college programs.
MODELED SCENARIO · Positive payoff
+$41,780 over 10 years
National scenario across reporting bachelor's degree programs, using median year-4 earnings, their institutions’ average net prices and a typical 4-year duration.
This is a positive modeled result. Price, time to finish and future earnings can still change the outcome.
8.6 yrsModeled economic break-even
+16%Modeled 10-year ROI
$74,557Observed earnings · year 4
Observed national outcomes
$74,557Median reported earnings · year 4
$75,293Average reported earnings · year 5
$24,649Median federal debt
68thYear-4 earnings percentile at this credential
30Reporting programs
27With year-4 earnings
The same field can produce a different equation.
Keep the federal field fixed and compare observed outcomes at every reportable credential level. These are separate graduate cohorts—not a promise that more schooling causes the difference.
OPEN PROFILE
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Year-4 earnings
- $75,332
- Federal debt
- $22,750
- Reporting programs
- 12
Associate's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $39,486
- Federal debt
- $17,266
- Reporting programs
- 12
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $74,557
- Federal debt
- $24,649
- Reporting programs
- 30
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $120,018
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Reporting programs
- 3
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$66,306National median$74,55775th percentile$82,081
27 programs report year‑4 earnings.See the spread, not just the national number.
1Baylor University$125,1672Western Governors University$107,5853Bellevue University$98,4874Texas A&M University-College Station$93,1415Bowling Green State University-Main Campus$86,2456Weber State University$82,5497Purdue University-Main Campus$82,4418University of Wisconsin-Madison$82,0819Kennesaw State University$79,14710Ball State University$78,401Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Related occupations
Official CIP–SOC links add career context without claiming that every graduate enters the same job.
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales WorkersSOC 41-1011 · 3 crosswalk linksWholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm ProductsSOC 13-1022 · 3 crosswalk linksFirst-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales WorkersSOC 41-1012 · 2 crosswalk linksPurchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm ProductsSOC 13-1023 · 2 crosswalk linksSales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and TravelSOC 41-3091 · 2 crosswalk linksSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific ProductsSOC 41-4012 · 2 crosswalk linksSales and Related Workers, All OtherSOC 41-9099 · 2 crosswalk linksAdvertising Sales AgentsSOC 41-3011 · 1 crosswalk linksBusiness Teachers, PostsecondarySOC 25-1011 · 1 crosswalk linksDemonstrators and Product PromotersSOC 41-9011 · 1 crosswalk linksParts SalespersonsSOC 41-2022 · 1 crosswalk linksSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific ProductsSOC 41-4011 · 1 crosswalk links
Same degree, different outcomes
Compare reported outcomes using the same federal field and credential. ROI uses each institution’s average net price as a scenario—not an individual aid offer.
| # | College | Location | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 10-year ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baylor UniversityBachelor's Degree | Waco, TX | $125,167 | $20,500 | +133% | Strong payoff |
| 2 | Western Governors UniversityBachelor's Degree | Salt Lake City, UT | $107,585 | $24,272 | +172% | Strong payoff |
| 3 | Bellevue UniversityBachelor's Degree | Bellevue, NE | $98,487 | $24,810 | +114% | Strong payoff |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College StationBachelor's Degree | College Station, TX | $93,141 | $22,000 | +81% | Positive payoff |
| 5 | Bowling Green State University-Main CampusBachelor's Degree | Bowling Green, OH | $86,245 | $27,000 | +49% | Positive payoff |
| 6 | Weber State UniversityBachelor's Degree | Ogden, UT | $82,549 | $18,500 | +70% | Positive payoff |
| 7 | Purdue University-Main CampusBachelor's Degree | West Lafayette, IN | $82,441 | $19,402 | +57% | Positive payoff |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin-MadisonBachelor's Degree | Madison, WI | $82,081 | $21,630 | +49% | Positive payoff |
| 9 | Kennesaw State UniversityBachelor's Degree | Kennesaw, GA | $79,147 | $20,750 | +42% | Positive payoff |
| 10 | Ball State UniversityBachelor's Degree | Muncie, IN | $78,401 | $26,000 | +39% | Positive payoff |
| 11 | University of Alabama at BirminghamBachelor's Degree | Birmingham, AL | $76,648 | Not available | +24% | Positive payoff |
| 12 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeBachelor's Degree | New York, NY | $76,565 | $9,850 | +64% | Positive payoff |
| 13 | University of Central OklahomaBachelor's Degree | Edmond, OK | $75,796 | $24,711 | +22% | Positive payoff |
| 14 | East Carolina UniversityBachelor's Degree | Greenville, NC | $74,557 | $18,750 | +22% | Positive payoff |
| 15 | Tuskegee UniversityBachelor's Degree | Tuskegee, AL | $73,435 | $27,000 | -11% | Negative payoff |
| 16 | University of HoustonBachelor's Degree | Houston, TX | $72,199 | $24,250 | +15% | Positive payoff |
| 17 | University of Akron Main CampusBachelor's Degree | Akron, OH | $70,867 | $27,500 | +10% | Positive payoff |
| 18 | University of HartfordBachelor's Degree | West Hartford, CT | $70,124 | $27,000 | -17% | Negative payoff |
| 19 | University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesBachelor's Degree | Minneapolis, MN | $68,903 | $20,500 | -3% | Negative payoff |
| 20 | University of Wisconsin-OshkoshBachelor's Degree | Oshkosh, WI | $66,875 | $23,500 | -8% | Negative payoff |
| 21 | University of Wisconsin-StoutBachelor's Degree | Menomonie, WI | $66,306 | $26,000 | -15% | Negative payoff |
| 22 | Virginia Union UniversityBachelor's Degree | Richmond, VA | $64,924 | $35,000 | -14% | Negative payoff |
| 23 | University of South Carolina-ColumbiaBachelor's Degree | Columbia, SC | $64,631 | $24,979 | -28% | Negative payoff |
| 24 | Rochester Institute of TechnologyBachelor's Degree | Rochester, NY | $58,141 | $24,587 | -59% | Negative payoff |
| 25 | SUNY Old WestburyBachelor's Degree | Old Westbury, NY | $48,624 | $19,125 | -84% | Negative payoff |
| 26 | Wade CollegeBachelor's Degree | Dallas, TX | $45,386 | $47,248 | -99% | Negative payoff |
| 27 | Stevens-The Institute of Business & ArtsBachelor's Degree | Saint Louis, MO | $37,244 | Not available | -130% | Negative payoff |
| 28 | Georgia State UniversityBachelor's Degree | Atlanta, GA | Not available | $26,000 | WithheldPrice-proxy sensitive | $15,931 |
| 29 | Lincoln UniversityBachelor's Degree | Jefferson City, MO | Not available | $31,000 | WithheldPrice-proxy sensitive | $19,092 |
| 30 | American Public University SystemBachelor's Degree | Charles Town, WV | Not available | $45,429 | WithheldPrice-proxy sensitive | $9,597 |
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.