Career ROI Calculator
Compare licensed careers by how fast the license pays for itself: enter your training and exam cost, get a BLS median salary pre-filled for your career, and see the payback period and 5-year net — sourced and printable.
LicenseFig · Career ROI
🩺 Certified Nursing Assistant — California payback estimate
Salary pre-filled from BLS median data (BLS median wage for nursing assistants) and editable. This is a simple planning estimate: payback time = training cost ÷ monthly income, ignoring taxes, benefits and earnings growth.
Payback period
1 months
$2,000 cost ÷ $2,978/month
5-year net (before taxes)
$176,700
$35,740 × 5 years − $2,000 training cost
Salary source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov/oes), median annual wages, retrieved 2026-08-20. Actual income varies widely by state, market, experience and whether you work full time.
Planning note: this ignores taxes, exam retakes, renewal and CE costs, and time to first paycheck. Treat it as a rough order-of-magnitude, and verify your state's costs with your state board.
FAQ
How is the payback period calculated?
Payback = training + exam cost ÷ monthly income (annual salary ÷ 12). For example, $2,000 of training against a $35,740 median CNA salary pays back in about 8 months. It ignores taxes, benefits and income growth — it’s an order-of-magnitude planning figure, not a promise.
Where do the salaries come from?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov/oes), median annual wages retrieved 2026-08-20 — for example CNA $35,740 and real estate sales agents $52,030. Notaries aren’t tracked separately, and home inspectors use the “construction and building inspectors” proxy. You can edit any salary.
What costs should I include in “training + exam”?
Include everything out-of-pocket: pre-license course, exam registration, fingerprinting/background check, application and license fees, study materials. Renewal and CE costs are excluded — that’s why the 5-year number is a pre-tax planning estimate.
Why does the 5-year net ignore taxes?
Keeping the model simple makes the result honest and reproducible. Real take-home pay depends on tax bracket, state, benefits and hours. Use the number as a comparison tool between careers, not as a salary promise.
Salary data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES median annual wages, retrieved 2026-08-20. Actual income varies widely — treat the result as a planning estimate and verify your state’s costs with your state board.