How is the break-even salary premium calculated?
Total investment (tuition, living costs and foregone local income during your study years) is divided by the present-value annuity factor for your remaining career years at your chosen discount rate. That gives the minimum annual salary uplift, sustained every year of your career, needed to fully recover the investment in today's dollars.
Why does the discount rate matter?
A dollar of extra salary ten years from now is worth less than a dollar today, because you could have invested money you had today and grown it. The discount rate (often 4-7%, roughly your expected investment return) converts future salary gains into today's dollars so the comparison to your upfront cost is fair.
Does this account for non-financial value?
No. This tool only measures financial return. Network, personal growth, language skills, partner or family circumstances and career optionality are real but not quantified here. A financially marginal result does not mean studying abroad is a bad decision overall.