MAJORS · 40 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a subject-specific teacher education degree worth it?
Part of Education — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$153,908. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$153,908
across 468 bachelor’s programs · 42,021 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$154K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$38K ⟷ +$268K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
20.1%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
35
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$52K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$108K
Questions
- Is a subject-specific teacher education degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 468 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Subject-Specific Teacher Education is +$153,908 and the median is +$154,493. 20.1% 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 +$37,800 and +$268,382.
- How long until a subject-specific teacher education degree pays off?
- Among Subject-Specific Teacher Education programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 35 (FREOPP 2021). 20.1% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a subject-specific teacher education major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Subject-Specific Teacher Education graduates span +$37,800 to +$268,382 — a +$231K 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). “Subject-Specific Teacher Education: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/subject-specific-teacher-education