The HEA Group and Open Campus recently released a new tool that explores wage outcomes for undergraduate certificate programs nationwide.
Pulling from federal education and wage datasets, the tool provides data for over 5,500 certificate programs, including number of program graduates (2017-18 and/or 2018-19) and median earnings four years post-program completion, adjusted for inflation. It compares those median earnings to the median earnings of employed high school graduates in the state and rates each program on a scale of 1-5, based on its earnings premium.
The average earnings premium for certificate programs nationwide is about $8,200, with states such as Vermont ($36,800), North Dakota ($21,700) and Minnesota ($16,500) offering programs that produce particularly high earnings premiums. Returns varied based on program fields, with CTE and skilled trades programs yielding some of the strongest earnings gains. The certificate programs most likely to deliver high earnings outcomes include:
- Registered Nursing
- Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians
- Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/Technicians
- Fire Protection
The most popular programs with high-wage outcomes include practical nursing and nursing assistants (48,400 graduates), precision metal workers (23,000 graduates) and allied health professions (13,400 graduates). Certificate programs in other CTE fields also produce strong wage outcomes:
- At Guilford Technical Community College in North Carolina, the vehicle maintenance and repair certificate program produces an earnings premium of $28,900 for over 100 graduates.
- At Hillsborough Community College in Florida, the criminal justice certificate program produces an earnings premium of $32,500 for over 200 graduates.
- The agricultural mechanization program in Northeast Iowa Community College leads to a premium of nearly $40,000.
- The biotechnology program in Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts produces a premium of $33,800.
In addition to undergraduate certificates, research shows that CTE associate and bachelor’s degrees as well as high school industry certifications boost students’ earnings. Readers with any questions may reach out to ACTE’s Research and Policy Coordinator Jesus Galvan.
