No Four-Year Degree Required

A look at a selection of in-demand careers in Minnesota

Preview:

While many students will thrive and excel in a four-year setting, this path carries with it inherent uncertainty and may not be appropriate for all students. For many, a four-year degree may not be desired, feasible, or the best option overall. Additionally, it appears that workers entering a number of these fields are waiting several years past usual labor market entry—perhaps into their late 20’s—to start the training necessary to go down a more lucrative, in-demand career path. This delay results in a number of “lost years,” when a worker could have been earning much higher wages, thereby dragging down lifetime earnings.

These two observations about the labor market in Minnesota underline the importance of encouraging young people to consider and enter these valuable fields. For these workers, we wish to shine a light on a set of high-skilled jobs that are in-demand, pay well, and require more limited formal educational training. To this end, this paper focuses on jobs that require no more than a two-year degree, a oneyear certificate or an apprenticeship, and that have wages that are high for a relatively condensed level of required education. The paper is organized by example career paths, with information on educational requirements and costs, average wages in the field, projected demand, estimates of lifetime earnings, and examples of similar occupations. The paper starts with occupations that require the most formal education, a two-year Associate’s degree, focusing on skilled manufacturing and registered nurses. Next, it examines jobs in the construction industry with less formal educational requirements such as an apprenticeship. Finally, it looks at occupations that typically require only a one-year certificate such as HVAC workers and electrical power-line installers.

The calculations are striking. Estimated lifetime earnings for the fields highlighted here exceed those of four-year degree-holders earning median wages for that educational group by as much as 61 percent.

A full copy of the report can be viewed here.