New Report Finds That 63% of Associate’s Degrees in STEM Earn More Than Bachelor’s Degrees in Non-STEM Occupations

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Study also finds that STEM jobs are among the nation’s most highly-paid and fastest-growing.

A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce shows that 65% of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM (science, engineering, technology and mathematics) occupations earn more than Master’s degrees in non-STEM occupations. Similarly, 47% of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM occupations earn more than Ph.D.s in non-STEM occupations. Furthermore, even people with only STEM certificates can earn more than people with non-STEM degrees; for instance, certificate holders in engineering earn more than Associate’s degree-holders in business and more than Bachelor’s degree-holders in education.

STEM will grow to only 5% of all jobs by 2018 and demand for STEM talent is growing even faster outside of traditional STEM occupations. The report finds that of out of every 100 students with a Bachelor’s degree, 19 graduate with a STEM degree but only eight are working in STEM occupations 10 years after graduation. But it’s not only about money — a major conclusion of the report is that STEM talent winds up outside of STEM occupations because STEM jobs often do not fully satisfy individual social and entrepreneurial interests.

“STEM provides choice for people both immediately after school and at mid-career, allowing people to transition to different and oftentimes more lucrative career pathways, including management and healthcare, that provide long-term stability and excellent wages,” says Anthony P. Carnevale, the Center’s director and the report’s lead author.

The report details STEM earnings by occupation, race, sex and education level, and finds that for women and minorities, STEM is the best equal opportunity employer:

• For women and minorities, STEM is a good news/bad news story. Women and minorities are underrepresented in STEM.

• But for those who do persist, the pay gap in STEM between women and minorities and White men is smaller in STEM than in any other occupation.

STEM also pays more than most jobs at each level of education, and at the graduate level is exceeded only by a small sliver of managerial and healthcare occupations.

• Over 70% of STEM workers at the high school or some college level make more than the average for workers in all other occupations at the same education level. More than two-thirds of Associate’s degree-holders in STEM make more than the average for all Associate’s degree-holders.

In addition, STEM training pays more even if you don’t work in a STEM occupation.

• Workers majoring in STEM in college earn more than all other majors over their lifetimes, even if they work in non-STEM occupations.

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce is an independent, nonprofit research and policy institute that studies the link between individual goals, education and training curricula, and career pathways.