Embargoed for Release until: 12:02 a.m., ET, Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Higher Education Pays: But a Lot More for Some Graduates Than for Others

Mark Schneider President, College Measures Vice President, American Institutes for Research® A product of College Measures’ Economic Success Metrics Project supported by the Lumina Foundation

College Measures is a joint venture of the American Institutes for Research and Matrix Knowledge Group

Contents List of Figures...............................................................................................................iv List of Tables.................................................................................................................v Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 Lesson 1: Some Short-Term, Higher Education Credentials Are Worth as Much as Long-Term Ones.................................................................................................. 2 Lesson 2: Where You Study Affects Earnings—But Less Than Usually Thought................... 3 Lesson 3: What You Study Matters More Than Where You Study...................................... 3 Lesson 4: The S in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Is Oversold......................................................................................................... 4 First-Year Earnings of Completers of Subbaccalaureate Credentials: Certificates and Associate’s Degrees.................................................................................................. 5 Certificates........................................................................................................ 6 Highest Paying Certificate Programs....................................................................... 8 Associate’s Degrees............................................................................................10 The Differences Can Be Substantial........................................................................12 Conclusions......................................................................................................16 First-Year Earnings of Graduates With Bachelor’s Degrees.....................................................17 Variation by Institution.......................................................................................17 Graduates From Many Schools Have Roughly Equal First-Year Earnings..........................18 What You Study Matters—and Maybe More Than You Think...........................................21 Conclusions......................................................................................................24

Higher Education Pays: But a Lot More for Some Graduates Than for Others

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First-Year Earnings of Graduates With Master’s Degrees........................................................25 Variation by Institution.......................................................................................26 Where You Study Versus What You Study: Variation by Program....................................28 Conclusions......................................................................................................32 When It Comes to Earnings, Is It Stem or Tem?....................................................................33 How Well Are STEM Graduates From Texas Faring in the Labor Market?...........................33 How Well Are STEM Graduates From Virginia and Colorado Faring in the Labor Market?.....35 Conclusions......................................................................................................37 Earnings Data Are Essential: Students Need to Know Before They Go.......................................38 Appendix....................................................................................................................40

Higher Education Pays: But a Lot More for Some Graduates Than for Others

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