Career Calculator
Trades vs. College: When Does the Degree Break Even?
A four-year apprenticeship pays you from day one. A four-year degree costs $29,910–$62,570 per year before it pays anything back. Pick a trade, pick a college path, and see the age at which the two lifetime-earnings curves actually cross — built on official BLS May 2025 medians, not salary-site guesses.
Break-even age
Age 36
The bachelor’s path catches up with the electrician path at age 36 — 14 years after graduation. At the end of the four training years (age 21), the electrician is $283,934 ahead: $164k earned in the apprenticeship vs. $120k paid for college.
$63,190
Electrician median wage (BLS 2025)
$82,888
Bachelor’s median earnings (BLS CPS)
$164k
Earned during 4 apprentice years
$120k
4-year college cost at your inputs
Show the numbers as a table
| Age | Electrician (cumulative) | Bachelor’s (cumulative) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | $31,595 | −$29,910 | Trade +$62k |
| 22 | $227,484 | −$36,752 | Trade +$264k |
| 26 | $480,244 | $294,800 | Trade +$185k |
| 30 | $733,004 | $626,352 | Trade +$107k |
| 34 | $985,764 | $957,904 | Trade +$28k |
| 38 | $1,238,524 | $1,289,456 | Bachelor’s +$51k |
| 42 | $1,491,284 | $1,621,008 | Bachelor’s +$130k |
| 46 | $1,744,044 | $1,952,560 | Bachelor’s +$209k |
| 50 | $1,996,804 | $2,284,112 | Bachelor’s +$287k |
Real 2025 dollars, pre-tax, medians held constant. Trades path: registered apprenticeship at 50/60/70/80 % of the trade median (DOL standard), then 100 %. College path: your annual cost for 4 years, then the BLS bachelor’s-only median. Loan interest not included — the average bachelor’s borrower graduates with $29,560 of debt (College Board). Full methodology and sources below.
The official numbers behind the calculator
Median annual wages, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, national, all industries:
| Occupation | SOC code | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Construction Manager | 11-9021 | $114,990 |
| Elevator/Escalator Installer | 47-4021 | $109,910 |
| Electrical Power-Line Installer | 49-9051 | $95,320 |
| Plumber / Pipefitter | 47-2152 | $63,800 |
| Electrician | 47-2111 | $63,190 |
| HVAC Technician | 49-9021 | $61,010 |
| Carpenter | 47-2031 | $60,580 |
| Welder | 51-4121 | $53,750 |
| Bachelor’s degree holders (all fields, 25+) | CPS | ≈ $82,888 |
Methodology & sources
- Trade wages: BLS OEWS May 2025 annual medians, national, cross-industry. We deliberately use medians, not means — means run ~10–15% higher and several salary sites republish them mislabeled as medians.
- Apprenticeship pay: 50/60/70/80% of the trade median across the four training years — the standard progression for registered apprenticeships (U.S. Department of Labor, apprenticeship.gov).
- Bachelor’s earnings: BLS Current Population Survey, median usual weekly earnings of full-time workers 25+ with a bachelor’s degree only, average of the last four quarters, annualized (×52).
- College costs: College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2024 — average 2024–25 on-campus budgets (tuition, fees, housing, food). The cost field is editable so you can enter your actual net price after grants and scholarships.
- Student debt context: average debt per borrowing bachelor’s graduate: $29,560(College Board, Trends in Student Aid 2024). Loan interest is not modeled — a simplification that favors the college path.
- What this is not: a prediction of any individual career. Medians are held constant in real 2025 dollars; overtime, advancement (a construction manager median is $114,990), degree field, and regional differences all move real outcomes.
Cite this calculator
Journalists and educators are welcome to cite or embed this tool. Suggested citation: “Trades vs. College Lifetime Earnings Calculator, Clean Invoice, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 and College Board Trends 2024 data” with a link to this page. Press contact: info@clean-invoice.com. You can also embed the interactive calculator on your own site — free, no signup.
FAQ
Do skilled trades really pay more than a bachelor’s degree?
It depends on the trade and the timeframe — that is exactly what this calculator shows. The BLS median for bachelor’s-degree holders (full-time, 25+) is about $82,888 per year, which is higher than most trade medians. But the trades path starts earning at 18 while the college path pays roughly $30,000–$63,000 per year in costs for four years. Elevator installers (median $109,910) and power-line installers (median $95,320) out-earn the bachelor’s median outright — for those trades the degree never breaks even at the medians.
What does "break-even age" mean here?
It is the age at which the cumulative earnings of the college path (earnings minus college costs) catch up with the cumulative earnings of the apprenticeship path. Before that age, the tradesperson has earned more in total; after it, the graduate has. For a typical trade vs. a public in-state degree the break-even lands in the mid-to-late 30s.
Why do you use median wages instead of averages?
The median is the wage of the person exactly in the middle — half earn more, half earn less. Averages (means) get pulled up by a small number of very high earners and overstate what a typical person makes. Several salary websites publish BLS mean wages labeled as medians, which inflates the numbers by roughly 10–15%. We use the official BLS OEWS annual medians (May 2025) and say so.
Does the calculator include student loan interest or taxes?
No — both paths are shown pre-tax and without loan interest, which is generous to the college path (the average bachelor’s borrower graduates with $29,560 of debt, and interest on that debt would push the break-even age later). Wages are official medians held constant in real 2025 dollars; individual careers, overtime, and advancement can move both curves.
Do apprentices really get paid during training?
Yes. A registered apprenticeship is an earn-while-you-learn model: apprentices typically start around 50% of the journeyman wage and step up to about 80% by the final year (U.S. Department of Labor standard progression). Many programs also cover tuition for the related classroom instruction — so unlike college, the training years are income-positive.