There is substantial variation in the returns to a college degree. One determinant is whether a worker's employment is "matched" with their education. With a novel education-industry crosswalk and panel data on 295,000 graduates, we provide the first estimates of an education-industry match premium leveraging within-person variation in…

We use data from the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study and propensity score weighting methods to estimate the effect of a double major on bachelor's degree recipients' earnings within four years after college graduation. We classify each of a student's two majors in a double major combination as either "higher- or…

Education-job match is often associated with enhanced well-being and career satisfaction, although existing research suggests that arts college graduates are less likely to experience education-job match than graduates of other disciplines. As research also increasingly suggests that student loan debt may influence college graduates' access to…

This report examined school-to-work linkages among bachelor's degree holders in the state of Texas. Linkage is a measure of how closely connected college majors are to specific occupations in the labor market. Studying linkage is useful as the state works toward ensuring students complete postsecondary credentials with marketable skills. The study…

This report and the accompanying interactive web tool are a first step toward helping students sort through the 37,000 programs in the College Scorecard data to learn which programs offer a pathway to good earnings and which threaten more debt. Part 1 examines earnings differences across different institutions. Just as there is overlap in…

This issue of "DataPoints" shows how median earnings for individuals with associate degrees in STEM are $60,000 and $48,000 for individuals with a certificate in STEM, compared to $53,000 for bachelor's-degree earners in humanities and $46,000 for a bachelor's degree in education.

We introduce a new approach to measuring the match between education and occupation by using the number of college courses related to one's occupation. Previous studies have only considered the match between college 'major' and occupation. That approach ignores the content of education and the courses taken in college. We find that taking courses…

Considerable research has focused on the academic outcomes of part-time undergraduates, but few studies have addressed their post-college labor market outcomes. This study compares the post-college earnings of community college students based on different full-time, part-time, and stop-out trajectories during their first four semesters. Community…

More and more Canadians are pursuing graduate studies, often to increase their chances of getting a better-paying job. Using data from the 2016 Census, this study examines the extent to which median earnings of workers with a master's degree or doctorate differ from their counterparts with a bachelor's degree, focusing on differences across fields…

Young graduates from many different fields of study help ensure a prosperous future for Canada. They are those who will build and maintain a strong social infrastructure in areas such as education, communications, justice and health, alongside graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), who will advance the frontiers of…

This study explores the relationship between college major, occupation, and early-career annual earnings for the years 2008 to 2010 using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1997 (NLSY97). I provide estimates of the effect of college major on earnings for those with bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and some college but no…

This study explores the relationship between college major, occupation, and early-career annual earnings for the years 2008 to 2010 using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1997 (NLSY97). I provide estimates of the effect of college major on earnings for those with bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and some college but no…

Student loans can be a good investment in an individual's future, providing financial access to higher education and improved chances of economic success after college. However, avoiding undue financial obligations and maximizing the return on investment require careful planning and prudent borrowing. Estimating whether the student loan debt…

A Census Bureau national survey identified baccalaureates aged up to 64 years having major area subspecializations labeled "psychology," "industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology," and "counseling psychology." Median 2009 earnings of all such types of baccalaureate psychology alumni were well below the distribution mean of the 153 fields in the…

Individuals make a variety of choices over the course of their careers that impact their earning potential. These choices include how far to go in school, what to study in school, and what job to take. This brief explores the relationship between how far one goes in school (educational attainment) and how much money one might make over the course…