Bachelor's · University Park, Pennsylvania
Is Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4.9 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $66,708
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $84,293
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $23,250
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $143k (likely $143k – $174k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $45k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 4.9 years (likely 3.9–6.3)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $97k (likely −$22k – $220k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $635k (likely $401k – $909k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 85%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations at other schools
📈 Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward business & money majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP Microeconomics
- AP Macroeconomics
- AP Statistics
- AP Precalculus or AP Calculus AB
IB Higher Level
- Business Management HL
- Economics HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's)$166,387
- Information Science/Studies (Master's)$158,815
- Physics (Master's)$150,865
- Systems Engineering (Master's)$145,507
- Information Science/Studies (Post-baccalaureate certificate)$141,703
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Post-baccalaureate certificate)$140,589
- Computer Engineering (Master's)$140,393
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's)$139,676
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Master's)$138,103
- Computational Science (Master's)$137,367
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Post-baccalaureate certificate)$134,369
- Business/Commerce, General (Post-baccalaureate certificate)$134,050