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20 Jul 2016
Report

Majors Matter: Differences in Wages Over Time in Texas

Mark S. Schneider

The wages of graduates from public colleges and universities in Texas vary radically across majors. This variation is evident immediately after students complete their studies, and it persists over time and is found at all levels of postsecondary education, ranging from short-term certificates to postgraduate studies and professional credentials.

This report highlights a narrow slice of the kinds of comparisons that are possible through the data reported on the College Measures Texas website. The data illustrate some important patterns, for example:

  • What students study matters. While the median wages of completers generally increase with successively higher credential levels, subbaccalaureate credentials in some majors offer wages that rival or surpass those of graduates with bachelor’s degrees.
  • Despite the importance that the nation places on high-quality early childhood education, the training programs that prepare students to work in this field consistently produce graduates that are among the lowest paid in their credential level.
  • Many of the largest majors, especially those associated with the arts, produce students who earn low wages. Furthermore, the relative wages of graduates from different majors are remarkably stable over time—that is, “start low, end low.”
  • The shortage of graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) does not translate uniformly into higher wages for graduates in these fields. According to evidence in Texas (and elsewhere), graduates with degrees in Biology do not do particularly well in the labor market. Rather, their wages tend to be similar to the median wages of graduates from all bachelor’s degree programs. 
  • In contrast, completers in Texas with credentials related to majors in engineering and technology tend to earn high median wages. This is also reflected in all College Measures partner states and in national data.
  • Graduates in many health-related majors also earn high wages, as do technicians at every level of postsecondary education. Students who know how to fix things or help people be healthy earn higher median wages in the labor market.
PDF icon Majors Matter: Differences in Wages Over Time in Texas (PDF)

Related Work

25 Apr 2013
Report

Higher Education Pays: The Initial Earnings of Graduates of Texas Colleges and Universities Who Are Working in Texas

The earnings of recent bachelor's and master's recipients in Texas vary not only by degree but by specific program and institution, according to a recent study prepared by College Measures, a joint venture of AIR and the Matrix Knowledge Group.

12 Oct 2014
Policy Brief

Why Your Major Matters: College Degrees and Long-Term Payoffs

How much graduates earn when they enter the labor market has become a hot-button issue as student debt mounts and fewer new graduates get jobs with the wages needed to pay off their loans. As this status report and these independent research findings show, the need now is for more long-term earnings data; fuller disclosure; and simpler, more accessible data presentation, so students and parents can make better decisions.
17 Sep 2012
Video

Mark Schneider on the Earning Power of Recent Graduates

In this video, Dr. Mark Schneider, a vice president at AIR, discusses his work on the earning power of first-year graduates from colleges and universities. In general, the findings show that a student’s school and major can make a big difference in what they earn.

Further Reading

  • Degrees of Value: Differences in the Wages of Graduates from Minnesota's Colleges and Universities
  • Texas Data: No Surprise, Most Female Grads Earn Less
  • 'Best' Colleges Don't Guarantee Higher Pay, Better Life
  • Tennessee Public Postsecondary Graduates and the Labor Market
  • In Minnesota, Majors Matter, AIR Study Finds; Future Earnings Linked to College Course of Study
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