Career & education decision tools

Stop guessing.
Start deciding.

Real labor market data, AI displacement risk, and honest ROI analysis — built for students, parents, and anyone choosing a path in an economy that's changing faster than the advice.

Calculate degree ROI Look up any career
27% of grads work in their field
41.3% recent grad underemployment
$37K avg student debt at graduation
5 tools free, no signup required

The toolkit

Five tools. One decision.

Each tool answers a different question you're probably already asking.

Most popular

Degree ROI Calculator

Enter your major, school cost, and career goals. Get a 40-year earnings projection, breakeven timeline, and AI displacement risk — all in one calculation.

Calculate now →
College + trades

Career Stats Lookup

Type any job — welder, nurse, software engineer, truck driver — and see US employment numbers, income ranges, how people entered the field, and AI risk.

Look up a career →
Eye-opener

Career Reality Check

Only 27% of graduates work in a field related to their major. See the gap across 16 fields — and understand what it means for your specific degree.

See the gap →
For students now

Student Pivot Tool

Already mid-degree? Enter your major and year in school. Get specific skills, certifications, and a timeline to make your degree relevant in an AI economy.

Build my plan →
Data viz

Graduate Employment Crisis

Visualizing the unprecedented rise in underemployed graduates since 2000 — framed not as doom, but as context for what to add to survive and thrive.

Explore the data →

Two paths. Same tools.

College or trades — we cover both.

The college lane

For students deciding on a major, parents evaluating whether a degree is worth the cost, and recent graduates figuring out what went wrong.

  • Degree ROI by major
  • Major-to-career alignment data
  • Skills to add mid-degree
  • AI displacement by field

The trades lane

For anyone considering vocational, trade, or certification paths — where alignment rates are higher, debt is lower, and AI risk is often lower too.

  • Salary data for every trade
  • Apprenticeship vs. trade school
  • Field alignment rates (welders: 87%)
  • Automation risk by trade
"The degree still matters. Only the degree no longer does."

PathDecider is built on one belief: the problem isn't that college doesn't work — it's that college alone no longer works. Every tool on this site is designed to show you what to add, not whether to quit. The goal is always additive.

Start with the question
you're already asking.

No signup. No email required. Just pick a tool and get a real answer.

Is my degree worth it? What does that job actually pay?