ROI Major

Business Administration and Management at Ozarks Technical Community College

MO · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Administration and Management degree from Ozarks Technical Community College earn a median salary of $35,528 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in MO, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $39,830. The degree typically pays for itself in 60.8 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

$27,237

Typical Career

$35,528

Top Performers

$46,321

Estimated break-even: 60.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$237

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $2,961. Most students can comfortably afford about a $237 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 0.9x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Missouri buys what costs $0.89 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 26.5%
Educational Services 12.8%
Retail Trade 9.0%

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

$39,830

Nominal: $35,528 in Missouri (COL 89.2% of national avg) · 12.1% 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).

60.8 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 $23,360 $31,835 $40,934
5 Years After Graduation $27,237 $35,528 $46,321
10 Years After Graduation $32,115 $42,273 $59,353

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 $35,528 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in MO, which has a cost-of-living index of 89.2% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $35,528 × (1.0 ÷ 0.8920) = $39,830 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Business Administration and Management program at Ozarks Technical Community College can expect a gradual increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $31,835, rising to $35,528 after five years, and reaching $42,273 a decade post-graduation. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings after five years align more closely with a national equivalent of $39,829.6, reflecting the cost of living in Missouri, which has a COL index of 0.892 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with 63.8% of them finding employment in this field. This trend continues with significant percentages of graduates also entering related industries. However, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 60.8 years, indicating a long-term return on investment that may not be favorable in the short term. Overall, while the program offers a pathway into stable industries, the ROI may require careful consideration regarding long-term financial outcomes.

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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.