ROI Major

Specialized Sales, Merchandising, and Marketing Operations at SUNY Westchester Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.19

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Specialized Sales, Merchandising, and Marketing Operations degree from SUNY Westchester Community College earn a median salary of $54,857 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $41,558. The degree typically pays for itself in 10.1 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

$41,695

Typical Career

$54,857

Top Performers

$64,402

Estimated break-even: 10.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$366

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,571. Most students can comfortably afford about a $366 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.4x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x 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, Educational Services, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 29.4%
Educational Services 9.9%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 8.3%

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

$41,558

Nominal: $54,857 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).

10.1 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 $19,758 $27,764 $39,342
5 Years After Graduation $41,695 $54,857 $64,402
10 Years After Graduation $48,030 $74,872 $93,428

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 $54,857 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)
= $54,857 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $41,558 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Specialized Sales, Merchandising, and Marketing Operations program at SUNY Westchester Community College experience a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $27,764, which increases to $54,857 after five years and reaches $74,872 a decade post-graduation. However, considering the cost of living in New York, which has a COL index of 1.32 compared to the national average of 1.0, the purchasing-power-adjusted five-year salary is approximately $41,558.33, indicating that graduates may need to account for higher living expenses in the state.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, which accounts for 40.6% of employment, followed by a significant 29.4% in the same field, and 10.4% in Professional, Scientific & Technical Services. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately 10.1 years. This suggests that while the program can lead to higher earnings, the return on investment may take over a decade to realize fully, necessitating careful consideration for prospective students.

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See how the Specialized Sales, Merchandising, and Marketing Operations degree at SUNY Westchester Community College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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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.