Degree → career ROI is opaque; people discover their field pays $18/hr after 6 years of study

Pain point

"Molecular biology with a master's… $18/hr." "Library science… two masters, $30k." "Do not become an architect." Students chose majors with no realistic salary/workload data.

Signal

Very strong, high-engagement: 3.4K post with individual comments at **3.3K and 5.1K upvotes** — comment scores exceeding typical post scores is a strong demand signal. Recurring theme across dozens of degrees, i.e. systemic not anecdotal.

Opportunity

(a) "Major Reality Check" — a pre-enrollment tool pairing verified salary outcomes + debt + hours-per-week workload + 5-year attrition by major/school, monetized via B2B licensing to high school counseling platforms (Naviance competitor) and affiliate student-loan/alt-credential referrals. (b) Higher-margin spin: a *pivot* service for the already-trapped — "Lab Tech to Clinical/Pharma/Med-Affairs" structured career-change bootcamps targeting biology/chemistry MS holders, a motivated, credentialed, underpaid cohort with clear adjacent high-paying roles. Feasibility: (a) medium (data acquisition is the work); (b) quick to pilot as a cohort-based service.

Evidence

• High difficulty, low reward degrees