Completers and Wage Progression: Salary Surfer

Patrick Perry California Community Colleges Chancellors Office

Greetings from Jerry, Anne and Sutter!

California Community Colleges

Wage Data:
We have it!!!!!!

Methodology
We are looking at wage outcomes for CCC award recipients (AA, AS, certificates down to 12 units)
Not looking at 4-yr transfers or non-completers (yet)

What is the wage return of the terminal CCC degree?

Methodology
Start with all award recipients in any given year. Remove from dataset any of the following if they occurred after date of award:
Still enrolled anywhere in CCC system Transferred to any other institution outside system

Methodology
Match remaining non-enrolled/nontransferred award recipients by SSN with EDD quarterly wage records.
Sum of all quarterly wages = annual wage (fiscal/academic year= Q3-Q4-Q1-Q2) If any quarter in a calendar year has $1 or more of wages, this is counted (need just one quarters worth of wages to be counted).

Reporting
We look at wages between 2 years prior through 5 years after date of award. Median (not average) wages reported at various time intervals. All wages adjusted to CA CPI (current dollars.) Minimum n=10 matches for any reporting cell to be disclosed.
Not all programs at all campuses meet this threshold.

Websites
Salary Surfer Data Mart (2)

Data Caveats
Excludes military, federal government, selfemployed, out of state and unemployed No way of determining part time or full time wages. Hours worked not in the EDDUI data. Only students with SSNs counted.

Analysis Caveats
Data reflects only the wage outcomes of award earners who remained in CA. Wages are not necessarily from employment associated with a particular award discipline; no information on job or whether degree/job match. Short term wage outcomes should not be a sole measure of institutional effectiveness or program quality. Other factors besides earnings motivate students to earn an award in a specific discipline.

But Waittheres more!

Theres More Than Just Wage!

Wage outcomes for graduates only represent one piece of the puzzle Besides annual wages from EDD also get industry of employment (NAICS) for students Many studies have looked at earnings of community college students but very few have been able to link to industry or occupation.

About NAICS
North American Industry Classification System NAICS is the lowest level of employment detail that EDD collects NAICS can be grouped at the two (sector), three (subsector), four (industry group), five (international industry) and six digit levels (national industry). For purposes of analysis, wages were aggregated to the two and four digit levels.

Rad. Technician AA/AS @ NAICS2

Rad. Technician AA/AS @ NAICS4

EDD Employers Site

http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/aspd otnet/databrowsing/empMain.aspx?menuCho ice=emp

Most Common Industries of Employment 2 years before award:

Industry of Employment Retail Trade Health Care and Social Assistance Educational Services Accommodation and Food Services Administrative Support , Waste Management and Remediation Services Median Wage $8,464 $17,499 $18,507 $7,302 % in Industry 16.4 11.0 11.0 10.2

Liberal Arts & Sciences Associate Degree

$5,154

7.9

Most Common Industries of Employment 5 years after award:

Industry of Employment Health Care and Social Assistance Educational Services Retail Trade Public Administration Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Median Wage $41,830 $28,491 $21,178 $53,836 % in Industry 16.0 14.5 8.7 8.6

Liberal Arts & Sciences Associate Degree

$28,004

8.0

What conclusions can we draw from this?

Many community college awards do a good job of moving students from low paying service sector employment to higher paying professional industries. Many of the allied health fields such as Nursing and Radiologic technology have a strong alignment with employers in health related industries. Even earning academic awards in areas such as Liberal Arts can help graduates move into professional occupations with higher wages.

Future work
We will continue to explore industry related outcomes associated with wages. Begin to look at outcomes of those who dont complete a formal awards (skills upgrade, career upgrade, industry certificate etc.) Ways we can incorporate industry of employment wages with our existing wage tracker data.

Questions & Comments