Which Associate Degrees Pay Off?

Two-year degrees are often lauded for their potential. Many schools advertise them as either a gateway to a four-year degree or a good-paying job. They can be both of those things, but that is not always the case. New data released last week from the Department of Education gives a look at debt and earnings one year after graduation at over 4,400 associate degree programs across the country. What this new data shows is a major variation in associate degrees across the country.

Of course, there are some caveats to the data, but it is pretty informative. For many degrees, a one-year snapshot of salaries tells very little about a degree. But for associate degrees, many are career focused and a one-year out salary is a fair metric to use. When it comes to median salaries one year after graduation, there is a wide distribution in how schools leave their graduates. The highest salaries—most of which were nursing programs—exceeded $80,000 one year out. Nearly 1,800 programs leave the median graduate earning less than $28,000—the Department’s estimate for the average high school graduate. Worse, some programs leave graduates earning below the federal poverty line and the worst of them have median salaries below $10,000, meaning half of graduates earned below that. Below shows some schools and programs by salaries, click here to see the median salaries at all programs.

When it comes to debt for associate degrees, one wouldn’t expect there to be many programs with high levels given that they are only two-year degrees, primarily offered at community colleges with lower tuition. And this is true at most institutions with more than 900 programs having median debt levels below $10,000. However, certain programs—especially at for-profit schools—load students up with large debt amounts. The 10 programs with the highest debts all exceed $37,000, that’s nearly $10,000 more than the typical bachelor’s degree graduate. The chart below shows some schools and programs by the highest debt loads at graduation. Click here to see all debt loads.

When students are considering associate degree programs the major of the degree matters a great deal. While at the bachelor’s degree level students can have similar earnings years out, even in the liberal arts, career oriented programs. The chart below depicts what the median debt and median salaries look like at the median institution by the specific major. This chart shows that construction engineering, nursing, and education are among the highest earners and fall in the middle range for debt. Business and sales are two field that show low earnings but high debt loads. Click here for interactive data.

The data are not perfect, but can be informative when looking for schools and specific programs. Students and families should use the consumer tool from the College Scorecard as they are evaluating where to attend to look at these outcomes along with many other factors.