MAJORS · 97 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a medical laboratory science degree worth it?
Part of Health and Nursing — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$793,901. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$793,901
across 108 bachelor’s programs · 6,073 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$793K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$642K ⟷ +$955K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
1.2%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
27
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$435K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$108K
Questions
- Is a medical laboratory science degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 108 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Medical Laboratory Science is +$793,901 and the median is +$793,173. 1.2% of graduates in this field never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between +$641,794 and +$954,877.
- How long until a medical laboratory science degree pays off?
- Among Medical Laboratory Science programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 27 (FREOPP 2021). 1.2% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a medical laboratory science major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Medical Laboratory Science graduates span +$641,794 to +$954,877 — a +$313K spread within one major. The same field can be a strong trade at one school and a losing one at another, which is why the per-school number matters more than the field average.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 115 subfields with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Medical Laboratory Science: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/medical-laboratory-science