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Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at York Technical College

SC · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.04

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Operations Support and Assistant Services degree from York Technical College earn a median salary of $38,197 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in SC, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $40,123. The degree typically pays for itself in 49.9 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

$29,388

Typical Career

$38,197

Top Performers

$48,631

Estimated break-even: 49.9 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$255

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,183. Most students can comfortably afford about a $255 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in South Carolina buys what costs $0.95 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 27.0%
Manufacturing 16.0%
Retail Trade 8.7%

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

$40,123

Nominal: $38,197 in South Carolina (COL 95.2% of national avg) · 5% 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).

49.9 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 $24,433 $32,139 $41,987
5 Years After Graduation $29,388 $38,197 $48,631
10 Years After Graduation $33,973 $42,860 $53,186

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 $38,197 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in SC, which has a cost-of-living index of 95.2% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $38,197 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9520) = $40,123 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Business Operations Support and Assistant Services program at York Technical College can expect a gradual increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $28,159, which rises to $34,668 five years later and reaches $37,908 a decade post-graduation. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns closely with the national equivalent at $36,415.97, indicating that while initial earnings may be modest, there is potential for growth that keeps pace with inflation.

The program primarily prepares students for careers in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, which dominates the job market for graduates, accounting for 45.3%, 27.0%, and 24.8% of employment opportunities, respectively. However, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path exceeds ten years, suggesting that while the program can lead to stable employment, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize. Students should weigh these factors carefully when considering their educational and career pathways.

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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.