A 2-Year Degree Can Fast-Track a New Job

A report entitled Graduated Success shows how one- and two-year community college credentials can, in many cases, deliver graduates higher salaries than four-year degrees.

That's good news for older Americans looking for employment, including millions who want purpose-filled work in the second half of life.

The new report by Demos, a nonpartisan public policy research and advocacy organization, found that, eight years after graduating from high schools, 27 percent of those holding a community college certificate as their highest degree earn a median annual salary higher than someone holding a bachelor's degree. It found that 31 percent of associate degree holders earn more than someone holding a bachelor's degree.

"We found widespread evidence that community colleges and technical degree programs, which offer specialized training for a variety of fields, are vital to a 'good jobs' economy recovery," said Viany Orozco, a policy analyst at Demos who co-authored the report.

The report also found:

•     Average and median salaries earned by those with community college certificates in engineering and health care are close to what bachelor's degree holders in the social or natural sciences earn, and are actually more than what someone holding a bachelor's degree in education earns.
•     Students who are awarded certificates earn median annual salaries that are 27 percent greater than those who leave school with no post-secondary awards.