Undergraduate certificate · New York, New York

Is Teaching Assistants/Aides at CUNY Graduate School and University Center worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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 7.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $35,675; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $38,671; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $5k (likely $5k – $7k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $1k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NY; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.8 years (likely 1.1–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$37k (likely −$111k – $49k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$11k (likely −$165k – $165k); Today's dollars