Completing a Colorado community college credential raised earnings by 31.5 percent, according to a recent survey by the Colorado Community College System (CCCS). The study (pdf) looked students who were 25 or older before beginning classes and did not transfer to a four-year school.
The most lucrative credential was an associate of applied science, which raised wages by 55.5 percent. Most AAS degrees prepare students to go directly to a career, such as nurse, radiology technician, firefighter, police officer, dental hygienist or paralegal. Other popular AAS degrees are management information systems, accounting technology, interior design and business administration and management.
AAS dental hygienist degree-earners increased their wages 230 percent after their education at Colorado community colleges and registered nurse AAS degree earners elevated their pay by 108 percent. In fact, the system’s entire cluster of health sciences AAS degree-earners showed an average wage increase of 97 percent (40 percent of the degrees awarded by CCCS are in health care).
Manufacturing graduates earned 84 percent more.
Students who earned a one-year vocational certificate earned only 1.8 percent more, but a two-year certificate raised earnings by 29 percent, the survey found. Students who didn’t earn a credential but completed 15 to 29 credit hours raised their pay by 11.9 percent, while those who earned 30 credits or more increased their earnings by 17.8 percent.
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