Full breakdown

Master's Salary & Aid Planner

Teachers should be paid more.
Starting with you.

The M.S.Ed. is awarded by William Jewell College, in partnership with Breathe for Change.

Your raise

Your estimated raise, on your district's pay schedule

The estimated difference, year by year

■ Estimated pay difference each year on the master's lane

What it could add up to

Estimated extra pay — before pension
+$0
estimated, over the rest of your career
Every paycheck
+$0
Every year
+$0

Estimated, based on your district's posted BA→MA schedule · illustrative, not a guarantee of a pay increase.

Based on your state's pension formula

Your pension could get a raise too

Estimated retirement boost—

Your money, year by year — estimated

The enrolled years, then years of estimated raises
The first bars are your enrolled years — estimated tuition, billed by the semester, spread the way you'd actually pay it. From graduation on, each bar is that year's estimated raise on your district's schedule — then the pension boost in retirement.
tuition while enrolled — billed per semester your estimated raise, each year estimated pension boost

Estimates from your district's posted schedule and your state's pension formula — not a guarantee. No raise is counted while you're still enrolled.

Should you wait?

Drag to see the effect of putting it off.
You get your master's… in 3 years
Waiting could reduce the estimated value
$0
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The return

What you could get back — and how you pay

What you pay vs. what you could get back

You pay — tuition, once—
Estimated lifetime return — pay difference + pension boost—

—

After tuition, that could leave you ahead —
…and as an investment, per year:
A master's / yr
—
estimated — pay raises alone, before pension
vs
Stock market / yr
≈ 7%
S&P, after inflation
Figured from the same estimated cash flows as the chart on the left, so the two always agree. Illustrative only — a raise isn't a liquid investment, it assumes you keep teaching, and your actual outcome depends on your district and career.

The same money, two places

Illustrative, not advice or a guarantee — both lines grow at the market's long-run ≈7%/yr; pension not included.

What it costs — and how you pay

Semester plan · through William Jewell
~$0 / semester
You don't pay it all at once — tuition is billed one semester at a time, and each semester's bill can usually be broken into smaller payments along the way. Confirm current options with William Jewell.
Federal aid · if you'd rather borrow
✓ FAFSA-eligible

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See your real payment · federal Loan Simulator ↗ Start the FAFSA at studentaid.gov ↗

How the tuition compares — online master's for educators

For educators who want to build skills
For professional growth only
Self-paced
24 months*
$16,500
*on average
Breathe for Change
M.S.Ed. awarded by William Jewell College
For educators who want to build skills and expand Human Intelligence
For personal & professional growth
Cohort-based learning
Just 12–24 months*
$14,790
*on average
For educators who want to build skills
For professional growth only
Self-paced
12–30 months*
$20,520
*on average

✓ Totals as published by each program, from Breathe for Change's program comparison — checked July 2026. Prices can change; confirm on each program's site.

Want to talk through your numbers?

Book a free 15-minute call → 20,000+ educators have trained with B4C.

A real conversation with a B4C advisor about your district, your step, and whether the M.S.Ed. makes sense for you — no obligation.

Is this accurate?

These are estimates, built from your district's publicly posted salary schedule plus public benefit records we can't always independently verify — all anchored to the salary you entered. It's a good-faith projection to plan around, not a guarantee of any specific dollar amount. Confirm the details with your HR and the William Jewell financial-aid office.

Salary: Your district's publicly posted salary schedule, anchored to the salary you entered at your step. We pulled these figures from public sources and can't always verify they're current — double-check your exact numbers against your pay stub and HR. Not a guarantee of a pay increase. Lane changes aren't automatic — most districts require an application with official transcripts by a set deadline, so ask HR for the date. Aid: This is an estimate, not an offer of aid or financial/tax advice. Actual amounts depend on your district's policy, your income, IRS rules, and federal program terms, which can change. The Lifetime Learning Credit is a FEDERAL tax credit claimed at filing, is subject to IRS income limits, and is non-refundable — it applies only if you're eligible. State programs are not included in your B4C estimate — most require enrolling at a specific in-state college or only forgive loans after the degree. B4C cannot guarantee any aid, reimbursement, grant, or tax outcome. Consult your district HR, a tax professional, and your financial-aid office. Pension: Pension estimate uses your state's published benefit multiplier (or a typical rate where a state's plan has no single fixed factor) over a 30-year career — or over your actual years if you set "more years you plan to teach" — and a 25-year retirement. ✓ Retirement length checked against SSA actuarial life tables, July 2026: a woman retiring at 60 averages about 25 more years of life (teaching is roughly three-quarters women). Source: ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html. Illustrative only; plan rules, multipliers, and vesting vary by state and plan.