Assembling a Career

Abstract

Objective: Research on labor market outcomes for individuals who enroll in technical colleges is limited, with even less attention to the effects of short-term certificates than associate degrees. Also, despite the importance of manufacturing programs, there is a lack of research on employment outcomes for individuals who enroll in these programs at technical colleges. In this study, we explored how types of credential earned are related to employment outcomes 4 years post-enrollment for students in manufacturing programs at public 2-year technical colleges in Wisconsin. Method: We drew upon administrative and wage data on over 6,000 first-time students matriculating into manufacturing-related programs at Wisconsin's technical colleges between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2009. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression, we investigated the association between types of credentials earned and labor market outcomes while controlling for the sample's sociodemographic background and academic experiences. Results: Our analyses revealed that students, particularly males, who completed an associate degree or a 2-year technical diploma were at an advantage in both rates of employment and earnings. White male students also enjoyed a stronger likelihood of being employed and earned higher annual wages than their ethnic minority counterparts. These advantages were not as manifest among female students. Contributions: Our study indicates that, to advance the employment prospects of technical college students, it is critical to expand institutional efforts to support longer term credential attainment. Our findings did not support the popular jobbingout myth lingering in manufacturing education at the 2-year college level.

Where to Go From Here? Toward a Model of 2-Year College Students’ Postsecondary Pathway Selection

“…Although this choice may result in success in the form of securing employment and higher earnings, it does not mean that all opportunities to job-out are unequivocally successful or beneficial for the students who choose that route. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that, despite the immediate appeal of jobbing out, it does not always represent an optimal pathway (Matheny, Chan, & Wang, 2015). Students experience significantly positive returns if they finish out their program and earn at least a long-term certificate or associate degree (Dadgar & Trimble, 2015).…”

Considering the value of postsecondary culinary education

“…The literature is clear, and it is generally agreed, that higher levels of education lead to higher incomes for most students (Kim & Tamborini, 2019;Lin & Ting Liu, 2019;Matheny, et al, 2015;Pham, et al, 2020;Sublett & Tovar, 2021) but the trajectory is not a simple growth curve. Research by Minaya and Scott-Clayton (2017) and Jaggars and Xu (2015) shows that initial income after graduation is not much different than someone holding a postsecondary certificate, but it tends to grow more quickly over the longer term.…”