ROI Major

Fire Protection at Louisiana State University at Eunice

LA · Associate's Degree · CIP 43.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Fire Protection degree from Louisiana State University at Eunice earn a median salary of $75,224 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in LA, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $81,499. The degree typically pays for itself in 5 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

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

$59,796

Typical Career

$75,224

Top Performers

$95,349

Estimated break-even: 5 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$501

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $6,269. Most students can comfortably afford about a $501 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.9x more than the average US high school graduate and 1.0x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Louisiana buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 48.8%
Educational Services 10.8%
Public Administration 10.3%

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

$81,499

Nominal: $75,224 in Louisiana (COL 92.3% of national avg) · 8.3% 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).

5 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 $50,381 $65,153 $82,269
5 Years After Graduation $59,796 $75,224 $95,349
10 Years After Graduation $63,411 $83,557 $114,494

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 $75,224 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in LA, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.3% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $75,224 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9230) = $81,499 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Fire Protection program at Louisiana State University at Eunice experience a notable earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $63,170, increasing to $74,872 five years post-graduation. However, by the ten-year mark, median earnings slightly decline to $64,930. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of $81,118.09, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive financial standing relative to their peers across the country.

The primary industries that graduates enter are Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 48.8% of employment, followed by another segment of Health Care & Social Assistance at 27.1%, and Public Administration at 14.5%. Given the estimated break-even point of approximately 5.1 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing this degree appears favorable. This suggests that the Fire Protection program offers a viable career path with solid employment opportunities and a reasonable timeline for financial recovery.

Compare with Another School

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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.