College Degree verses A Vocational Certification
Professionals holding various educational levels, such as baccalaureate degrees, associate degrees, and vocational certificates, maintain employment benefits backed by research information and listed in publications. One group of comparison includes the role of earnings in education along with additional independent variables. This commentary looks at different credentials, their employment benefits, and their function in long-term learning patterns of professionals.
Educational Credentials
Certification. Certification of proficiency in the capacity to carry out the responsibilities of a profession shows a person's realization of career standards. It provides a point of reference indicating that a person has the skills needed to work in a certain occupation or specialty area. Certification engages students in a learning process aimed at achieving a level of understanding required by state or national regulations (e.g., teacher certification), industry certification (e.g., Novel Certified Engineer); or professional organizations and associations (e.g., Certified Public Accountants). Certification differs from licensure because it is not a legal requirement. Licensure, a further restraining requirement, gives workers the ability to legally practice an occupation if the minimum professional requirements are met.
Associate Degrees. The primary reason for attending an associate degree program is to gain career advancement or employment in a certain profession. Associate degree programs are provided largely by technical and community colleges; 75% of programs are career oriented that emphasize public, business, engineering, and health technologies. Close to 58% of the United State's nursing (RN) programs are associate degree programs. An associate degree is obtained by completing two years of full-time education following high school.
Bachelor's Degrees. Bachelor's degrees are awarded to students completing four to five years in a full-time educational program following high school. Graduates with this degree are recognized as possessing criteria that makes them possible contenders for degree-demanding employment. An estimated 30% of the jobs in today's work force require the minimum of a bachelor's degree by custom or law (McMenamin 1998).
Comparison of Benefits
Earnings. Various studies authenticate that greater salaries are obtained by completing post-secondary education. Hartog (1999) shows a 5-15% increase in earnings for each additional year of schooling earned after high school. The level of achievement or certification, however, has the greatest impact on earnings. In a study comprising of graduates from California Community College, the highest earnings increases were achieved by those who earned an associate degree (11% increase) and by those who completed certificates (15% increase) (Sanchez and Laanan 1997). The greatest earnings reward, however, is usually obtained by college graduates. The March 1997 report on the Current Population Survey data indicates that college graduates earned an average of $40,753 in 1996. The report showed these earnings to be 75% higher than the average earned by high school graduates, which was listed at $23,317 (Cosca 1998, p.2). Unfortunately, failing to complete a degree program can have a negative outcome. Those who earned some college credit, but failed to complete a degree program have lower earnings than those with an associate degree (Hecker 1998).
A significant range of salary disparities are found amongst those holding vocational and professional certificates. An example of this is doctors earning more than nurses. Also, some professions award higher salaries to employees after state licensing requirements are achieved, often when licensing requirements entail coursework beyond a bachelor's degree and earned experience (e.g., CPAs in the accounting profession) (Schaefer and Zimmer 1995). Whether or not a program is accredited can also impact licensure and certification.
Even though post-secondary education is viewed as an economic and professional benefit, Forbes magazine recently published an article (McMenamin 1998) putting this belief into question by acknowledging that 58 of the Forbes 400 members either failed to complete their education or avoided college altogether. These members, including Bill Gates, are said to have a $4.8 billion average net worth, "more than twice the average net worth of those 400 members who attended Ivy League Colleges" (p. 104). The article inquires why such a large number of people earn college degrees: Is it because private industries and the government require a college diploma for employment or because completing a college degree gives people the proficiency needed to work in today's economy?
Employment. The employment market is evolving. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that between 1996 and 2006, college level jobs will grow at a lower rate than over the previous ten years. Because of this reduction in job growth, 65,000 less college-level jobs will be available; the number of new college graduates looking for employment will exceed college-level job openings by 18% (Mittelhauser 1998).
The occupations increasing the most are service and professional specialty occupations that demand an associate's degree instead of a bachelor's degree. These occupations are projected to comprise of close to 50% of overall employment growth between 1996 and 2006 and generally need education that can lead to an associate degree (Silvestri 1997). Even though those who earn associate degrees usually earn less than those with bachelor's degrees, the benefit of an associate degree is the immediate entry into employment where on-the-job training and knowledge is gained (Leigh and Gill 1997). On-the-job education is estimated to have a return rate of up to 15% (Hartog 1999).
Technical certification of skills is growing in significance amongst employers, especially when the employers are helping to develop the standards of certification. Certificates work as "open transcripts" of a worker's ability to use skills, knowledge, and learning experience gained over time (Indiana Department of Workforce Development 1998). The National Skill Standards and Assessment Collaborative, a new venture of the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education developing from the Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, is an attempt intended to partner education and industry values to increasingly meet the needs of workers, students, and employers (Schwager 1998). Groups including the National Association of Industrial and Technical Teacher Educators are striving to develop standards of excellence for certification. They witness the ongoing importance of skill certification for job candidates, their hiring establishments, and the patrons they serve (Walker and Zirkle 1999).
Success. While advanced education is viewed as an excellent asset, Robert Rischauer of the Brookings Institute says, due to the more intelligent students naturally finding educational success, the fertility of their academic achievements can be foretold (McMenamin 1998). It is logical that workers with greater skills who have attained higher education will be the workers hired by employers. However, according to Heckler (1998), learning characteristics have a great impact on workplace achievement and possibly have the largest influence on occupational earnings and choices. "Employers are willing to pay significantly higher wages to workers who can find, organize, and think with a variety of kinds of knowledge" (Ramsay 1999, p. 626).
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