Career Path Lab

Explore any career: see the full salary range, what education costs, the break-even point, and your lifetime wealth comparison — powered by real data and a rigorous financial model.

Your Profile

Your situation anchors every number here. Age and retirement age together determine your earning runway — changing retirement from 65 to 70 can add hundreds of thousands to lifetime earnings. State adjusts salary estimates for your local market without affecting tuition.

Your Age

Retirement Age

Many careers run well past 65.

Current Annual Income

Highest Education Completed

State / Region (salary COL adjustment) Scales all salary estimates. Does not affect tuition.

Income While in School Reduces opportunity cost. Many nurses, engineers, and tradespeople work during training.

Career Explorer

Search any career or click a featured card. Salaries are adjusted for your state. Each career has three salary tiers (Conservative = 25th percentile, Typical = median, Optimistic = 75th percentile) and a career-specific growth rate applied to the first 10 years. After year 10, growth tapers to 2.75%/yr (inflation-adjusted) to avoid unrealistic compounding over a 40-year horizon.

What matters most to you in a job?

Select all that apply. These feed your Career Match Score — shown below after you pick a career.

Education Pathway

Tuition + fees only — no room and board. Opportunity cost is the income you give up during school, reduced by your school income % setting. Uses 2025-26 College Board / NCES averages for the chosen school type.

School Type College Board avg. 4-yr public in-state, 2025-26

Override Total Tuition (optional) Know your actual school's cost? Enter total tuition here.

Select a career above to see education pathways.

Financial Projection

Conservative = 25th percentile salary. Typical = median. Optimistic = 75th percentile. Break-even uses true net worth comparison — the year cumulative new-career earnings exceed what you'd have earned staying put. Salary growth is two-stage: career-specific rate for the first 10 years, then 2.75% (inflation-adjusted) for years 11+ to avoid unrealistic compounding. Current income grows at 2.5%/yr (raises + promotions + inflation). NPV discount: pick 3% (optimistic), 5% (typical, default), 7% (conservative) — or turn off for nominal dollars.

NPV discount:

Lifetime Earnings to Retirement Age

Stay Current Path

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New Career

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Difference

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Target Salary

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select scenario

Ed. Investment

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tuition + net opp. cost

Break-Even

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years from today

Net Gain

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over modeled period

Cumulative earnings — new career vs. staying put (after education cost)

Annual income trajectory

Education investment breakdown

Reality Check

Compares your target career against national typical averages across six quality-of-work factors. A career that conflicts with your lifestyle leads to burnout regardless of pay.

Select a career above to see the reality check.

Your Career Report

Plain-English takeaways combining your fit, financials, and education requirements into a personalized recommendation.

Complete the sections above to generate your report.

This tool is for educational and informational purposes only. Salary figures are estimates based on BLS and publicly available data and vary by employer, location, and experience. Results are not professional career, financial, or educational advice. Always consult a qualified advisor for decisions involving education financing or career changes.