Trade Career ROI Calculator

Carrying student debt? See how quickly a skilled trade could pay it off. Salaries are BLS median annual wages — your results are an estimate, not a promise.

Your numbers

Your estimate

Annual pay increase
+$22,350/yr
Clear your $30,000 loan in1 yr 4 mo
Extra earnings over 10 years$223,500

Loan payoff assumes you put the full raise toward the balance and excludes interest and taxes. A real-world budget will differ — treat this as a directional estimate.

Median wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2024). Training costs and timelines are typical estimates and vary by program and location. Data last updated June 2026.