ROI Major

Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management at SUNY College of Agriculture & Technology at Cobleskill

NY · Bachelor's Degree · CIP 03.03

Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management degree from SUNY College of Agriculture & Technology at Cobleskill earn a median salary of $49,703 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $37,654. The degree typically pays for itself in 12.7 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 bachelor's graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$40,511

Typical Career

$49,703

Top Performers

$61,147

Estimated break-even: 12.7 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$331

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,142. Most students can comfortably afford about a $331 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in New York buys what costs $1.32 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Bachelor's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 13.7%
Public Administration 12.0%
Educational Services 10.0%

Institution-wide industry mix for bachelor's graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$37,654

Nominal: $49,703 in New York (COL 132.0% of national avg) · 24.2% lower 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).

12.7 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 $25,031 $34,376 $41,264
5 Years After Graduation $40,511 $49,703 $61,147
10 Years After Graduation $46,777 $59,353 $78,843

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 $49,703 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in NY, which has a cost-of-living index of 132.0% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $49,703 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $37,654 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates in Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management from SUNY College of Agriculture & Technology at Cobleskill can expect a progressive earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $34,376, which increases to $49,703 after five years, and reaches $59,353 a decade post-graduation. However, when adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equates to approximately $37,653.79 nationally, indicating that while initial earnings may be lower in New York due to a higher cost of living, the long-term financial outlook remains positive.

The top industries for graduates include Health Care & Social Assistance (13.7%), Public Administration (12.0%), and Educational Services (10.0%), suggesting a diverse range of career opportunities. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 12.7 years, which indicates a moderate return on investment for those pursuing this degree. Overall, while the financial benefits may take time to materialize, the degree offers a viable pathway into various sectors that can lead to stable employment and growth.

AI-assisted editorial analysis based on Census PSEO data. Fact-checked against source data.

Compare with Another School

See how the Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management degree at SUNY College of Agriculture & Technology at Cobleskill stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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.

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