A quiet place to think it through
Should you go back to school, or keep working?
The question almost no one asks is the one that actually decides this: not 'is grad school worth it,' but 'can I afford the years it costs, and is the payoff real enough to justify them.'
Ad — site owner placement
Leaderboard / responsive display unit here. Top-of-page is the appropriate spot — outside the result, never between someone's situation and their answer.
Part 1
Where you are now
Your starting point — what you earn now, and how many working years you're deciding over.
Roughly 65 minus your current age.
Part 2
The program
What the degree costs in dollars. The bigger cost — the income you give up — comes from Parts 1 and 3, not here.
4%10%
Part 3
Income while studying
Most of the cost of a degree is the paycheck you stop earning. This is where you tell the tool how much of it you actually give up.
Part 4
After graduation
Your honest guess, and the conservative version the tool uses to stress-test it.
The salary you might land if the bump is smaller than you hope. This is the stress test. If the math still works at this number, the decision is robust.
Part 5
Show the underlying assumptions (defaults to honest values)
Long-run conservative US equity average. Higher numbers favor keep-working in the math.
3%10%
Realistic cost-of-living plus normal raises. Same growth applied to both paths so the comparison is honest.
0%6%
Break-even — optimistic
At your hopeful post-degree income
Break-even — conservative
At the stress-test income (half-bump default)
Wealth at horizon — degree path
Cumulative net earnings, after loan repayment
Wealth at horizon — keep-working
Includes tuition money invested at the assumed return
Net position at horizon
Positive: degree path ahead. Negative: keep-working ahead.
Why it landed here
Ad — site owner placement
In-article unit here, below the complete result. Placed after the person has their answer — not interrupting it.