Exploring postsecondary Certificates and their relationship to earnings:
high school graduates at age 25

          Supplement to the more jobs for marylanders report, 2017

OVERVIEW

This interactive report follows-up on findings from the MLDS Center’s 2017 More Jobs for Marylanders Data Analysis and Goal Recommendations (MJFM Report)[1], which analyzed the earnings of high school graduates who had not completed at least a 2-year college degree by age 25.  One of the interesting findings in the report was the generally favorable workforce outcomes for the population of high school graduates who earned a postsecondary certificate.  This report will provide more information about these students, what they majored in, the industries in which they work, and their wages.

The MJFM report showed that by age 25, Certificate Graduates with continuous wages had a median quarterly wage of $9,518.  

This wage was almost $2,500 higher than High School Graduates without any college and almost $3,000 higher than high school graduates with Some College but no degree (see Chart 1).  

The Certificate Graduates also exceeded the living wage[2] (red line in Chart 1) for the State of Maryland by almost $2,500.‍

chart 1: Median Quarterly Wage by Educational Attainment at age 25

High School Graduates with a Postsecondary Certificate had a median quarterly wage $2500 higher than than those without at age 25.

What is a Postsecondary Certificate?

A postsecondary certificate is a degree award that requires around 20-30 credits and can be completed in one academic year or less.  For example, Anne Arundel County College (AACC) offers a Professional Bookkeeper Certificate that requires 18 credits.  According to AACC:

The program provides the knowledge and skills required of a full-charge bookkeeper. It prepares the student to take the Professional Bookkeeper Certification Examination. Because the program is carefully tailored to
job-related skills, the student can complete it in two terms.”

This example also highlights an important distinction:  a postsecondary certificate, which is a degree conferred by a college, is different from a certification, which is a credential, generally issued by a national organization or industry, that indicates that the person possesses the requisite skills and knowledge for a certain job or function.  In this example, an alternative to a Certificate would be a certification granted by the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers.

Study Population

The MJFM Report analyzed wages[3] of high school students who graduated in 2008, 2009, and 2010.  Of that population of 171,993 high school graduates, 61%, or 105,330, did not have an Associate’s or higher degree by age 25. That population was divided into three groups based on their education attainment (see Table 1). Then the report analyzed wages for those individuals who had continuous wage visibility from high school graduation to age 25.  This means that they had a wage record for 75% or more of the five to seven year period after high school to age 25.  Individuals with continuous wages were selected for analysis because they provide a complete wage history and allow for comparisons of individuals similarly engaged in the workforce.

Table 1. Educational Attainment Groups and totals with continuous wages

While the population of Certificate Graduates is small, their workforce outcomes are very encouraging, especially in light of the minimal amount of time and expense necessary to earn a postsecondary certificate.  Understanding Certificate Graduates, what they majored in and the industries in which they work, may provide some important insights for students and policymakers considering expedient pathways to good paying middle-skill jobs.

postsecondary certificate graduates

The sections below explore the relationship between majors, wages, and industry for Certificate Graduates, including outcomes by race, ethnicity and gender.  For a more detail description of the methods guiding this study select METHODOLOGY.

Major

Industry

methodology
Data Limitations and Definitions:
[1] The More Jobs for Marylanders Act, Chapter 149 of 2017, required the MLDS Center,with input from the Governor’s Workforce Development Board to develop annual income earnings goals for high school graduates who have not earned at least a 2-year college degree by age 25.

[2] Living Wage calculations are developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and provide data on the cost of living in various geographic areas across the United States.  The living wage calculations incorporate the cost of food, housing, health insurance,transportation, taxes, clothing and other personal items to derive a minimum annual income required for basic self-sufficiency.  More information on the MIT Living Wage Calculator is available on their website.  The measure selected from the Living Wage Calculator was “required annual income before taxes” for one adult with no dependent children. At the time of writing the MJFM report, the living wage was$28,780 annually or $7,195 per quarter.
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[3] The wage data include quarterly Unemployment Insurance (UI) wages reported by employers to the MD Department of Labor. UI wages are not filed for federal employees, military personnel, independent contractors (self-employed) and certain non-profits.  Accordingly, while the MLDS data can provide information on who has wages, it cannot state that the lack of wages are the result of unemployment.