#2 Half of Working Adults with a Short-Term Certificate Earn Poverty-Level Wages

Although students pursue short-term credentials for economic stability, Figure 1 shows more than half of adults with a short-term certificate who are employed earn $30,000 or less per year,¹ which is below the national poverty line for a household of four.² The median yearly income for those with a short-term certificate ranges from $20,001 to $30,000 per year.³ With the highest concentration (18 percent) of short-term certificate-earners making $10,000 or less annually, obtaining only a short-term certificate is not a likely vehicle towards economic mobility for the average student.

The earnings disparity for short-term certificates (15 weeks or fewer) is noticeably adverse for students of color and women. Figure 2 shows that, among those with a short-term certificate, the median yearly income is less for minority students than for white students. The median yearly income for Black and Latino/Latina adults with a short-term certificate is $10,000 to $20,000 less than the median yearly income of their white counterparts who hold a credential of similar length.

We find similar patterns across gender, where Figure 2 shows the median yearly income for women with a short-term certificate is less than that for men who also have a short-term certificate. These findings echo the current literature suggesting that men tend to experience economic benefits from non-degree credentials, while women with comparable credentials do not.⁴ Some of the disparity can be attributed to the fact that male-dominated industries yield higher wages compared to female-dominated fields.⁵ Yet even accounting for the disparity in earnings based on gender-dominated industries, there are longstanding systemic inequities within the U.S. labor market that are unfavorable to the pay of women.⁶

Figure 3 shows the median yearly earnings for the five most popular fields of study for short-term certificates. Health care and construction trades are the most popular fields of study for short-term certificates. Yet health care, a field of study dominated by women and a large percentage of people of color, has the lowest yearly earnings compared to the other four fields of study. The annual median income for adults with a short-term certificate in health care range between $10,001 and $20,000; those with a short-term certificate in construction trades (male-dominated) have median yearly earnings ranging from $50,001 to $60,000.

In addition, we found that adults with a short-term certificate in health care have the lowest rates of employment compared to the other four fields of study.⁷ Not only does a certificate of fewer than 15 weeks in health care yield very low pay, students are also at a higher risk for job instability. Stability is a benefit that many students who enroll in these programs are looking for.

“This is a downside to the job because there is so much work that we are required to do and the pay is dishearteningly low.” – Certified Nursing Assistant, Richmond, VA