---
title: Is a Business Operations Support and Assistant Services degree worth the debt?
cip: 5204
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Business Operations Support and Assistant Services degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **6** colleges (6 of 6 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $22,486 ($19,227 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $19,003 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 1.16× a first year's pay


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $20,416 | $9,379 | 0.40× | 97 | 97/97 |
| Associate's | $25,832 | $19,950 | 0.75× | 78 | 78/78 |
| Bachelor's | $22,486 | $19,003 | 1.16× | 6 | 6/6 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bellevue University (NE) | $53,185 | $18,750 |
| East Carolina University (NC) | $47,282 | — |
| Valdosta State University (GA) | $31,365 | $34,937 |
| Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Carolina Campus (PR) | $13,606 | $19,256 |
| University of Puerto Rico-Humacao (PR) | $9,396 | — |
| University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla (PR) | $8,269 | $10,000 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/business-operations-support-and-assistant-services.jsonld` · `/education/fields/business-operations-support-and-assistant-services.json`