Graduates earning more with associate degree, certificates

A new study on the earn­ings of college graduates was released this week by College Measures, which tracks college performance data. The report found graduates with associate degrees and occupationally ori­ented certificates often earned salaries similar to graduates with bachelor’s degrees.

For example, graduates in Texas with technical associate degrees earned on average over $11,000 more in their first year after graduation than graduates with bachelor’s degrees.

The study also found that graduates with bachelor’s de­grees in the liberal arts typically earn the least compared to oth­er fields of study.

Data from the study also suggested some fields in STEM (science, technology, engineer­ing and mathematics) are more lucrative salary-wise than oth­ers. The study found employers were willing to pay a premium for graduates with degrees in the fields of technology, engi­neering and mathematics. Evi­dence suggested, however, that graduates with biology degrees often earned less than English majors.

The study used data from Arkansas, Colorado, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia