Oregon Certificate Holders Can Double Earnings, Research Shows

Earning a bachelor's degree used to be seen as the best way to guarantee getting a good job, but many students are now turning to certificates as an accessible, more-affordable route to professional opportunities.

Certificates are diplomas geared toward particular occupations. It takes less time to earn one than it does traditional post-secondary degrees -- many certificates take several months to earn, compared to two years for an associate degree or four years for a bachelor's. According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, obtaining a certificate can help people increase their earnings later in life. Its report, "Certificates in Oregon: A Model for Workers to Jump-Start or Reboot Careers," analyzes the effects of an academic certificate on the lives of their recipients in Oregon. The report found that the benefits of a certificate vary for workers depending on career, age and gender, but completing a college certificate typically boosts workers' overall earnings by almost $5,000, or 19 percent, compared to their previous wages.

Since 2007, the number of certificates awarded in Oregon has more than tripled, mainly from short-term programs at community colleges designed to prepare people for a professional career in industries ranging from health care to hospitality to manufacturing. Those seeking certification are usually older than the average college student: According to the Georgetown University study, 67 percent were 25 or older when they earned their certificates, while the majority of bachelor's degrees recipients (61 percent) were 24 or younger upon graduation.

Certificate holders who are 29 or younger increase their earnings in more drastic ways than their older counterparts, sometimes more than doubling their pay, the study finds. The study notes that students under the age of 24 have the greatest earnings gains (about $21,000), while those between 24 and 29 increase their earnings by an average of $16,000.

The Georgetown University study also found that certificates helped mitigate economic inequalities. Two out of five certificates holders had previously received a Pell grant, federal financial aid reserved for low-income students; they saw a considerable increase in earnings (on average $9,600, compared to an average of $500 for those who did not receive a Pell grant) after completing a certificate. The earning gap between students who received a Pell grant and those who did not narrowed by more than 50 percent after they earn their certificates.

Earnings for certificate holders depend on the field they choose to study, the report finds. Certificates in business lead to the highest overall earnings, with a median annual earning of $40,000. Health certificates bring the highest increase in earnings, with an annual median income increase of $10,500. Consumer and public services certificates lead to the second-highest increase in earnings, with an annual median income increase of $3,700.

There is a wage gap of about $15,000 between men and women pursuing a certificate, which narrows to just over $7,000 after they receive their certificates. This is due to greater earnings growth for women, who on average receive a median annual earnings increase of about $9,000, compared to a median increase of about $1,500 for male certificate earners.

Nationally, men pursuing certificates concentrate in STEM, manufacturing and technical fields, whereas women tend to focus on health and consumer and public service jobs. The study finds that the same is true for Oregon, and that the gender wage gap is present within each of five broad fields of study. According to the study, men have a higher median annual income than women in four out of the five fields, with a particularly important wage gap in the business field.

Finally, the study finds that certificates enable people to transition from traditional blue-collar industries such as manufacturing and construction to jobs in health care and other higher-skilled sectors, which are growing more quickly.