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🏆 Select a Certification
💡 How the Model Works
Cost = exam fee + materials + optional prep course (all evening/weekend study — no opportunity cost).
Salary premium = your expected annual salary increase from holding the cert, as a % of current salary. Pre-filled from industry salary surveys; adjust to your market.
NPV = present value of all premium payments over your horizon, minus total cost. Positive = the cert pays off financially. Payback = months until cumulative premium covers cost.
Note: Salary premiums vary widely by employer, geography, and experience level. Treat embedded estimates as order-of-magnitude benchmarks.
Salary premium = your expected annual salary increase from holding the cert, as a % of current salary. Pre-filled from industry salary surveys; adjust to your market.
NPV = present value of all premium payments over your horizon, minus total cost. Positive = the cert pays off financially. Payback = months until cumulative premium covers cost.
Note: Salary premiums vary widely by employer, geography, and experience level. Treat embedded estimates as order-of-magnitude benchmarks.
💰 Cost Inputs
Total for all parts/sections (auto-filled; edit if needed)
Books, official guides, practice exams
Udemy, Becker, Wiley, Bloomberg Prep, etc.
📈 Return Inputs
Risk-free rate (default 5%)
Years over which the premium is modelled
Certification ROI Summary
Year-by-Year Cash Flow
| Year | Event | Cash Flow | Cumulative |
|---|
Verdict
Downstream Tools
If this cert leads toward a graduate degree, send these results to AL-26 Graduate School ROI Comparator to model the full degree NPV. For deeper credential-stack modelling, see AL-02 Credential ROI Suite.
🏭 Your Industry
Skill half-lives vary significantly by field
📐 Skill Half-Life Model
Half-life is the time it takes for a skill's professional value to halve without active investment. A coding skill with a 2.5-year half-life retains 50% of its value after 2.5 years of dormancy — 25% after 5 years.
Formula: retention = e−ln(2) / halfLife × years
Career Capital Score (0–100) = weighted sum of retained value across all skills in your industry profile.
Sources: WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 · McKinsey Global Institute Skill Shift 2021 · IBM Institute for Business Value 2024 · Deloitte Insights Human Capital Trends 2024.
Formula: retention = e−ln(2) / halfLife × years
Career Capital Score (0–100) = weighted sum of retained value across all skills in your industry profile.
Sources: WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 · McKinsey Global Institute Skill Shift 2021 · IBM Institute for Business Value 2024 · Deloitte Insights Human Capital Trends 2024.
📊 Score Tiers
● 80–100 — Fresh — Well-maintained, competitive portfolio
● 60–79 — Aging — Active in core areas; some domains need refresh
● 40–59 — Stale — Meaningful depreciation; recharge priority high
● 0–39 — Critical — Significant capital loss; urgent reskilling recommended
● 60–79 — Aging — Active in core areas; some domains need refresh
● 40–59 — Stale — Meaningful depreciation; recharge priority high
● 0–39 — Critical — Significant capital loss; urgent reskilling recommended
Career Capital Assessment
Skill Retention by Domain
Priority Recharge Plan