ROI Major

Dental Support Services and Allied Professions at Century College

MN · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.06

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Dental Support Services and Allied Professions degree from Century College earn a median salary of $50,609 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in MN, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $53,782. The degree typically pays for itself in 11.3 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

$39,922

Typical Career

$50,609

Top Performers

$64,306

Estimated break-even: 11.3 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$337

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,217. Most students can comfortably afford about a $337 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Minnesota buys what costs $0.94 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 35.3%
Public Administration 9.1%
Manufacturing 7.3%

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

$53,782

Nominal: $50,609 in Minnesota (COL 94.1% of national avg) · 6.3% 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).

11.3 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 $36,694 $45,328 $55,863
5 Years After Graduation $39,922 $50,609 $64,306
10 Years After Graduation $46,692 $58,632 $73,442

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 $50,609 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in MN, which has a cost-of-living index of 94.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $50,609 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9410) = $53,782 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Dental Support Services and Allied Professions program at Century College experience a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $40,065, which increases to $46,093 five years post-graduation and reaches $54,728 a decade later. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings five years after graduation equate to $48,983 nationally, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive salary relative to the national average, despite Minnesota's cost of living index being slightly lower than the national average.

The majority of graduates find employment in the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with 39.8%, 35.3%, and 26.0% entering this field at various stages of their careers. The estimated break-even point for this educational path compared to a high-school-only route is approximately 14.5 years, suggesting that while the initial investment in education may take time to recoup, the long-term benefits in terms of salary and job stability in a growing industry present a favorable return on investment for students considering this career path.

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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.