Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods at Molloy University

The first-year earnings here—$31,764—land Molloy's education program in just the 5th percentile nationally, a troubling position for a field that already pays modestly. While the program sits closer to the middle of the pack among New York education programs (40th percentile), that's hardly reassuring when you consider that the state median itself is $36,570. Other New York schools like Monroe and Manhattan place graduates earning $47,000-$58,000 in their first year, suggesting that where you study teaching in New York genuinely matters for your initial salary placement.

The debt picture compounds this challenge. At $27,000, graduates carry slightly more debt than the national median for education programs, creating an 85% debt-to-earnings ratio in year one. That means nearly your entire first year's salary would go to debt if you followed the standard 10% repayment guideline. The 26% earnings growth to $40,155 by year four helps, but you're still earning below what typical education grads make right out of the gate elsewhere.

The caveat: this data comes from fewer than 30 graduates, so individual circumstances could skew these numbers significantly. But even accounting for statistical noise, the gap between Molloy and top-performing New York programs is too wide to ignore. If your child is committed to teaching in New York, this data suggests exploring programs with stronger salary outcomes—particularly important in a field where starting salary often sets the trajectory for years to come.