Human Services at Northeastern University

The $37,367 four-year earnings figure should catch your attention—graduates at this elite institution earn less after four years than they did after one. With fewer than 30 graduates in this cohort, this unusual pattern could reflect individual career choices (grad school, nonprofit work, temporary positions) rather than program weakness, but it's still worth understanding. The initial $45,799 puts Northeastern near the top nationally for human services programs, yet right at the Massachusetts median, suggesting this isn't a Northeastern-specific advantage so much as a Boston market effect.

The $26,000 debt load is actually below both state and national medians, which is surprising given Northeastern's high sticker price. This likely reflects the university's strong co-op program and financial aid for human services majors. Still, with that debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.57 based on the higher first-year number (it's worse if using year four), you're looking at manageable but not trivial debt for a helping profession that typically doesn't command high salaries.

The value here depends entirely on career trajectory. If your child plans to use this degree as a stepping stone to graduate school or views Northeastern's co-op network and alumni connections as worth the investment in a helping field, the elite university brand might matter. But if the goal is direct entry into human services work, several Massachusetts state schools offer comparable or better early outcomes at significantly lower cost.