Master's · Redwood City, California

Is Education, General at Alder Graduate School of Education worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 12.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $68,779; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $20,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $21k (likely $21k – $21k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $2k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 12.8 years (likely 5.8–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$161k (likely −$219k – −$106k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$133k (likely −$249k – −$10k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.