Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at Brigham Young University

BYU's Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages program shows impressive outcomes—$60,240 starting salary and minimal debt of $5,500—but the extremely small sample size (under 30 graduates) makes it hard to know if these results are typical. This could represent a select group of highly motivated students who pursued the program for specific career goals, often alongside practical skills or double majors. The program ranks in the 95th percentile nationally for earnings, which sounds remarkable until you realize the national median is identical to BYU's figure, suggesting limited nationwide data for this specialized field.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.09 is outstanding, meaning graduates owe less than one month's salary. Earnings grow steadily to $66,679 by year four, which is solid but not spectacular growth. What makes this tricky to evaluate is that language programs often serve as gateways to diverse careers—international business, government service, translation, education—and individual outcomes can vary wildly based on how students leverage the degree.

If your child is genuinely passionate about Slavic languages and has a clear career plan (think State Department, intelligence community, or international business), these numbers suggest it can work financially, especially with BYU's low debt burden. But don't bet on these exact outcomes; with such a small cohort, your child's experience could differ significantly. The real value here isn't the language major itself—it's what else they pair it with.