1

Demographic Programs

U.S. Census Bureau

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

P70-72

What’s It Worth? Field of Training

and Economic Status

Household Economic Studies Issued April 2001

Current

Population

Reports

By

Kurt J. Bauman and

Camille L. Ryan

1996

As the economic rewards of education continue to increase, so too do the numbers of

people in the United States with degrees and

credentials.1 With an increasing number of

adults returning to school and young people

making choices about education, it is valuable to know more about earnings and degrees. Education often entails important

choices about field of study, alternative credentials, and the time to start and complete

studies beyond high school. This report explores school completion and degrees, fields

of training, occupations pursued, and earnings obtained. It also

examines the education and earnings of

people who obtain a

General Educational

Development (GED)

certificate, the different

educational results of

women and men, and

trends across generations in various aspects of schooling.

The report uses data

collected in the Survey

of Income and Program

Participation (SIPP) in

August through November of 1996, representing the civilian

noninstitutional population of the United

States.

1See Robert D. Mare,

“Changes in Educational Attainment and School Enrollment,” in State of the Union:

America in the 1990s, Volume 1: Economic Trends,

Reynolds Farley, ed., New

York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1995, pp. 155-214.

Degrees Held by Adults in the

United States

In 1996, more people in the United States

held postsecondary education credentials

than ever before.2 Thirty-one percent of

the adult population (18 and over) had

2The 31.2 percent of people over 18 with postsecondary degrees in the 1996 SIPP data is significantly greater

than the percentages in earlier SIPP surveys dating back

to 1984. The percentage of people with postsecondary

credentials did not exceed 25 percent before 1984, according to estimates which can be calculated from the report Educational Attainment in the United States: March

1999.

Figure 1.

Educational Attainment Levels of the 

Adult Population in 1984 and 1996 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. What's It Worth? Educational Background and Economic Status: 

Spring 1984, P70-11; Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.

(Percent of population age 18 and over)

Less than

high school

High school

Some college

Vocational

certificate

Associate

degree

Bachelor's

degree

Master's degree

Professional

degree

Doctoral

degree

1996

1984

0.5

0.8

1.0

1.2

3.4

4.8

10.6

14.1

3.4

6.1

1.8

4.2

17.8

18.7

35.5

32.0

26.0

18.1
2 U.S. Census Bureau

degrees or certificates above the

high school level in 1996, up from

21 percent in 1984, the first year

covered by a report from this series

(see Figure 1). Bachelor’s degrees,

associate degrees, and vocational

certificates accounted for most of

the increase. People with bachelor’s

degrees accounted for 3 percent

more of the adult population in 1996

than in 1984, while associate degree

holders increased their share by 2

percentage points. The 2 percentage-point increase in people with vocational certificates was even more

dramatic, given that they

represented only 2 percent of the

adult population in 1984.3

Advanced degree holders accounted for a smaller part of the increase in people with postsecondary credentials. The 1996 tally

showed a 1 percentage point increase in master’s degree holders,

and less than 1 percentage point

increases in the share of adults

with professional degrees and doctoral degrees.

3The growth in the percentage with associate degrees and the growth in percentage with

vocational certificates were not significantly

different.

A greater portion with postsecondary degrees means a smaller one

with a high school education or less.

From 1984 to 1996, the percentage

of adults reporting a high school diploma as their highest education fell

from 35 percent to 32 percent. The

percentage of adults with less than a

high school diploma fell from 26 percent in 1984 to 18 percent in 1996.

Fields of Training

Business was a popular field of training at all levels beyond high school

(see Table A). This major was the

Table A.

Detailed Fields of Postsecondary Degrees of the Adult Population: 1996

(Population age 15 and over with vocational certificate or higher degree. Numbers in thousands)

Field of degree

Highest degree level

Vocational

certificates

Associate

degrees

Bachelor’s

degrees

Advanced1 degrees

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,908 11,758 40,539 13,164

Agriculture/forestry/horticulture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) 564 (B)

Art/architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) 1,155 204

Auto mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 (X) (X) (X)

Business/management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,564 2,760 7,499 1,927

Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 271 951 (B)

Computer and information science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 621 843 227

Construction trades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 (X) (X) (X)

Cosmetology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762 (X) (X) (X)

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 421 6,150 2,945

Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 (X) (X) (X)

Engineering/drafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) 624 3,256 809

English/literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) 1,399 375

Foreign languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) 383 (B)

Health care/health sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,544 1,785 2,144 (X)

Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) (X) 1,126

Liberal arts/humanities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 1,021 2,715 272

Mathematics/statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) 834 265

Medicine/dentistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) (X) 996

Natural sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 246 2,579 490

Nursing/pharmacy/public health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) (X) 424

Philosophy/religion/theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) 507 366

Police and protective services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) 280 (X) (X)

Preprofessional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) 526 (X)

Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) 1,564 461

Social sciences/history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 203 2,224 431

Other vocational. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749 1,407 (X) (X)

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,872 2,119 5,246 1,846

(B) Fewer than 200,000 people. (X) Category not in questionnaire for given education level.

1

Advanced degrees include master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

most popular choice of those with

associate and bachelor’s degrees and

was one of the most common majors among those with vocational

certificates and advanced degrees.4

In 1996, 7.5 million people had

bachelor’s degrees in business, 2.8

million had associate degrees, and

1.9 million had MBAs or other advanced degrees in business. Other

common fields of training for degree

and certificate holders were education, engineering, and health care.

4Among those with vocational certificates,

the two most popular majors were business

and health. The number with business majors

and the number with health care/health sciences majors were not significantly different.

At the advanced level, business was the second most common major. Education majors

were significantly more numerous than business majors, and the business majors significantly more numerous than those majoring in

law.

By contrast, few people had degrees

in computer science and computerrelated subjects. This may be due,

in part, to the fact that computer science degrees were relatively rare before 1975.5

Some fields of training provide

skills used directly in the labor market; other fields are more likely to

lead to higher degrees. This phenomenon is clearest among those

with a bachelor’s degree who reported their college major as

“preprofessional” (such as

5In 1970, around 0.3 percent of bachelor’s

degrees awarded were in computer and information sciences, compared with 2.3 percent in

1998. See National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 1999, NCES

2000-031, by Thomas D. Snyder and Charlene

M. Hoffman, Washington, DC, 2000, Table 255,

p. 292.

premedicine or prelaw). The majority (72 percent) of them went on to

earn an advanced degree (see Table

B). At the opposite end of the

spectrum were college graduates

who majored in art/architecture,

business, communications, or computer science: 20 percent of these

people completed studies beyond

the bachelor’s degree. Between

25 percent and 50 percent of

people with other fields of training

completed advanced degrees.6

6Although art/architecture, business, communications and computer sciences are classified at 20 percent, and agriculture and health

sciences are classified as 25 percent or higher,

the only significant difference is between

health care and business majors completing

advanced degrees. All other differences between the proportion of these six majors completing advanced degrees were not significant.

Table B.

Detailed Fields of Bachelor’s Degrees of People Who Went on to Get Advanced Degrees:

1996

(Population age 15 and over with bachelor’s or higher degree. Numbers in thousands)

Field of bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree recipients1

Number

Percent of

all BAs

Advanced degree field

Same field Law Medicine Other

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,164 32.5 43.1 8.6 7.6 40.7

Agriculture/forestry/horticulture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 26.8 35.8 4.0 - 60.3

Art/architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 20.9 55.0 2.5 4.1 38.4

Business/management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,408 18.8 69.5 9.2 1.7 19.7

Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 17.6 33.9 7.7 1.2 57.1

Computer and information science . . . . . . . . . . 157 18.6 62.4 2.5 1.9 33.1

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,310 37.6 80.0 1.2 0.5 18.3

Engineering/drafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,154 35.4 61.6 6.5 2.3 29.5

English/literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 42.4 32.0 10.3 1.2 56.6

Foreign languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 45.6 32.6 8.0 - 59.4

Health care/health sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 24.8 41.0 2.1 29.7 27.3

Liberal arts/humanities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 956 35.2 16.5 19.9 6.3 57.3

Mathematics/statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 43.5 49.2 3.9 1.9 45.0

Natural sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,141 44.2 30.7 2.8 31.6 35.0

Philosophy/religion/theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 51.9 56.7 6.1 1.1 36.1

Preprofessional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 72.1 (X) 34.7 48.9 16.3

Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 43.2 37.6 8.0 3.9 50.5

Social sciences/history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861 38.7 27.3 21.5 2.2 49.0

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,637 31.2 (X) 9.7 5.7 84.7

- Represents zero or rounds to zero.

1

Advanced degrees include masters, p

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey o

(X) Does not apply.

rofessional, and doctoral degrees.

f Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

People who had preprofessional

college majors and went on to earn

advanced degrees usually received

them in law or medicine (84 percent). Among people whose college major was education, 80 percent who obtained advanced

degrees did so in the same field.

Overall, however, the transition

from undergraduate major to advanced degree field followed diverse pathways. People with college majors in agriculture,

communications, English, foreign

language, health care, liberal arts,

natural sciences, psychology, and

social sciences obtained advanced

degrees in the same or related

fields less than half the time.7

Occupations

One reason that people pursue

higher education is to gain access

to professional and managerial occupations. Of the people with

managerial jobs, 46 percent had

bachelor’s or higher degrees. Of

people in professional occupations,

71 percent had this much education. By comparison, no more than

8 percent of those in craft, service,

farm, and production occupations

had bachelor’s or higher degrees

(see Figure 2).

At nearly every level of education,

there were certain fields of training

strongly associated with professional and managerial occupations.

Business majors were more likely

than others at the same education

level to have managerial occupations — even among those with vocational certificates and associate

degrees (see Table C). People who

7Note that the percentage of college graduates earning advanced degrees in the same

field depends in part on how narrowly the field

is defined. If respondents were asked to pick

from a different list of fields, a somewhat different rate of continuation might be apparent.

majored in other subjects, by

contrast, were increasingly likely to

be found in professional occupations as their education level increased.8 At the associate degree

level or higher, a person with a degree in engineering, arts, sciences,

or education, was more likely to

have a professional than a management occupation.

8The difference in percentage with professional occupations was not significant for

people who received vocational certificates in

vocational subjects compared with people who

received associate degrees in these subjects.

In addition, note that even among business

majors, increase in education to the bachelor’s

and advanced degree levels was accompanied

by a larger portion in professional occupations.

However, even at the advanced level, only 20

percent of business degree holders had professional occupations, compared to 55 percent or

more of other degree holders.

Earnings

In 1996, the monthly earnings of

full-time workers with professional

degrees were approximately

$7,000 (see Table D). By contrast,

full-time workers who did not complete high school earned less than

$2,000 per month, on average.

Other degree levels ranged in between.

Even small amounts of postsecondary education were associated with

higher earnings. People who had

“some college but no degree”

studied one year past high school or

Figure 2.

Degrees and Occupations: 1996

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.

(Population age 15 and over, employed during previous 4 months. 

Percent distribution)

Advanced

Bachelor's

Associate

Vocational

Some 

college

High 

school

Less than 

high school

Occupations

34.3

14.1

4.6 3.9

1.6 1.2 0.8 1.5 0.6

36.5

31.8

23.9

18.9

12.3

6.0 4.2

6.6

3.4

8.9

7.8

17.6

6.3

8.6

4.8 7.0 4.3

3.5

2.9

3.4

11.0

3.2

4.9

4.7 7.8

2.1

3.5

9.3

20.2

24.2

25.2

29.9

20.7

19.1

12.0 16.4

6.6

18.9

16.8

29.9

37.0

35.2

43.5

33.1

45.6

1.6 3.7 2.0

12.6

5.8

27.3

17.6

40.5

27.0

ProductionCler- Service Craft Farm

ical

Tech- Sales

nical

ManagerialProfessional
U.S. Census Bureau 5

Table C.

Occupation by Degree Level and Field of Training: 1996

(Employed population age 15 and over. Numbers in thousands)

Degree and field of degree

Occupation

All

ProfessionalManagerialTechnical Sales Clerical Service Craft FarmProduction

Total

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111,659 17,931 14,617 3,339 12,322 14,191 16,271 11,777 3,865 17,346

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Advanced Degree

100.0 16.1 13.1 3.0 11.0 12.7 14.6 10.5 3.5 15.5

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,084 6,772 2,593 201 636 328 249 117 66 122

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 61.1 23.4 1.8 5.7 3.0 2.2 1.1 0.6 1.1

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 20.0 56.0 1.8 15.0 2.7 2.1 1.4 0.6 0.5

Engineer/computer . . . . . . . . . 100.0 61.9 23.5 3.5 4.1 1.3 1.2 2.6 0.2 1.9

Arts, sciences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 74.4 12.2 2.1 3.6 3.0 2.3 0.5 0.5 1.5

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 68.7 19.3 1.2 3.0 3.3 2.1 0.4 1.2 0.8

Other fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s Degree

100.0 59.5 23.0 0.8 6.4 3.9 3.3 2.2 0.3 0.5

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,527 7,209 5,830 1,052 3,119 2,479 1,233 611 288 706

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 32.0 25.9 4.7 13.8 11.0 5.5 2.7 1.3 3.1

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 11.0 42.0 2.4 21.6 12.9 3.9 2.8 0.6 2.7

Engineer/computer . . . . . . . . . 100.0 45.9 23.0 9.4 8.0 4.2 2.1 4.6 0.5 2.4

Arts, sciences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 38.0 19.0 6.2 11.7 11.3 6.3 2.0 2.1 3.4

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 52.1 11.6 0.7 9.2 13.1 6.1 2.2 1.3 3.7

Other fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Associate Degree

100.0 26.8 27.5 4.6 13.6 10.8 9.0 3.1 1.2 3.3

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,668 1,765 1,422 775 1,038 1,742 994 1,022 187 723

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 18.3 14.7 8.0 10.7 18.0 10.3 10.6 1.9 7.5

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 5.5 24.9 2.9 16.1 31.1 7.5 5.6 1.4 5.0

Engineer/computer . . . . . . . . . 100.0 19.1 12.7 12.2 9.4 13.3 6.4 16.3 2.5 8.2

Arts, sciences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 30.7 11.1 11.6 8.0 14.4 11.3 4.5 2.6 5.7

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 28.1 11.7 3.2 16.1 21.1 13.6 2.8 1.6 1.9

Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 9.5 10.4 7.0 7.0 7.2 12.3 30.6 1.8 14.3

Other fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vocational Certificate

100.0 17.1 11.8 7.4 10.8 16.5 12.8 12.1 1.3 10.1

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,104 566 627 484 522 986 971 1,129 91 728

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 9.3 10.3 7.9 8.6 16.2 15.9 18.5 1.5 11.9

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 5.7 18.6 2.6 12.3 37.5 9.7 4.0 1.5 8.1

Drafting/computer . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 7.3 9.0 10.2 8.1 13.9 7.1 31.3 0.6 12.4

Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 11.2 7.1 10.5 7.0 10.2 20.2 19.9 1.6 12.3

Other fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some College

100.0 8.8 11.8 5.1 9.3 14.9 16.2 18.7 1.6 13.7

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,782 1,829 3,709 1,067 4,152 6,041 4,257 2,787 529 3,411

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High School

100.0 6.6 13.4 3.8 14.9 21.7 15.3 10.0 1.9 12.3

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,410 1,305 3,467 739 4,930 7,481 7,227 6,340 1,453 9,468

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Less than High School

100.0 3.1 8.2 1.7 11.6 17.6 17.0 14.9 3.4 22.3

Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,866 314 678 88 2,077 1,175 5,597 2,558 1,780 5,599

Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 1.6 3.4 0.4 10.5 5.9 28.2 12.9 9.0 28.2

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.
6 U.S. Census Bureau

less, on average.9 However, this

level of additional education was

enough to increase earnings by

$340 per month. High school

completion paid off as well. Average

earnings for people whose highest

degree was a high school diploma

were $580 per month higher than

9The majority of people who say they have

“some college but no degree” report that they

have completed one year or less postsecondary schooling. See Robert Kominski and Paul

M. Siegel, “Measuring Education in the Current

Population Survey,” Monthly Labor Review, September 1993, p. 35.

for those people who did not complete high school.

Blacks earned less than White nonHispanics at almost every education level. In fact, even if Black

education levels were equal to

White non-Hispanic education levels, 77 percent of the earnings gap

would still be there. Hispanic earnings were also lower than those of

White non-Hispanics.10 Making

Hispanic education levels equal to

White non-Hispanic levels would

10Hispanics may be of any race.

leave 59 percent of the earnings

gap.11

11The comparisons between race and ethnic

group differences in earnings “even if they had

the same education level” were based on standardization, using all levels of education (even

those with a small number of cases). The high

variance associated with higher education categories is offset by the small number of cases,

keeping the overall variance small. In Table D,

the difference in earnings between Blacks and

White non-Hispanics at the associate level is

not significant. The differences in earnings between Hispanics and White non-Hispanics at

the vocational and associate levels are not significant. Comparisons at the professional and

doctoral levels were not possible, due to the

small number of cases. Earnings differences

between Hispanics and Blacks were not significant at the educational levels that could be

tested.

Table D.

Monthly Earnings by Degree Level: 1996

(Population age 18 and over with earnings, employed full-time for previous 4 months. Earnings in dollars)

Earnings category, characteristic,

and field

Highest degree level

Less than

high

school

High

school

diploma

Some

college

VocationalAssociateBachelor’s Master’sProfessionalDoctorate

Measures of Earnings

Average . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25th percentile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Median . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

75th percentile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Average Earnings by Race and

Ethnicity

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . . . . .

Average Earnings by Age

18-29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30-49. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

50+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Average Earnings by Field of

Training

Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Liberal arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Social science, law. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Science, medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,699

1,000

1,400

2,044

1,733

1,891

1,542

1,488

1,344

1,773

1,829

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

2,279

1,295

1,894

2,700

2,340

2,394

1,904

1,862

1,766

2,356

2,620

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

2,614

1,471

2,146

3,136

2,709

2,767

2,151

2,130

1,813

2,832

3,023

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

2,491

1,488

2,125

3,060

2,524

2,543

2,045

2,275

1,972

2,568

2,780

2,373

(B)

3,046

(B)

(B)

2,412

(B)

2,429

2,578

2,841

1,722

2,478

3,420

2,862

2,881

2,634

2,710

2,206

2,993

2,907

2,727

2,996

3,208

2,586

2,660

2,783

(B)

3,197

2,804

3,767

2,044

3,000

4,388

3,864

3,913

3,185

2,832

2,575

4,052

4,189

3,962

4,416

4,680

3,455

3,292

3,645

2,802

(X)

3,808

4,635

2,719

3,850

5,355

4,715

4,721

3,611

(B)

3,019

4,749

4,840

5,579

(B)

5,513

3,460

3,657

4,427

4,280

(X)

4,045

7,224

3,029

5,230

8,333

7,410

7,500

(B)

(B)

(B)

7,435

7,749

(B)

(B)

(B)

(B)

7,378

8,481

(B)

(X)

(B)

6,047

3,166

4,860

6,600

6,465

6,539

(B)

(B)

(B)

6,040

6,262

(B)

(B)

(B)

(B)

(B)

7,397

(B)

(X)

(B)

(B) Fewer than 200,000 people. (X) Category not in questionnaire for given degree level.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.
U.S. Census Bureau 7

People age 18-29 earned less than

older people in all educational

categories.12 For those with some

college but no degree, earnings were

especially low under age 30. At that

age, people with associate degrees

earned more than those with some

college but no degree. At age 50

and over, people with some college

but no degree earned as much as

those with associate degrees.

12There were two exceptions. Professional

degree recipients and doctoral degree recipients could not be compared because of too

few people 18-29.

13Some contrasts with the earnings of engineering/computer majors were larger (in dollar

terms) than the contrasts with business and

vocational majors. However, the differences

were not significantly different from zero, due

to small sample sizes.

Field of training sometimes had as

dramatic an effect on earnings as did

level of education. People who studied engineering-related subjects

while earning vocational certificates

had higher earnings than people

with business or vocational majors.13

People with bachelor’s degrees in engineering earned 67 percent more

than people with education degrees.

Indeed, vocational and associate

holders who studied technical fields

such as computers and engineering

earned not much less than people

who held bachelor’s degrees in

liberal arts, education, or the sciences. People with associate

degrees in vocational fields had similarly high earnings (see Figure 3).

Substantial variation in earnings

occurred at each level of education.

One-quarter of all bachelor’s degree

recipients earned $2,000 or less,

which is less than the average of

people with some college but no

degree. The highest paid quarter

of bachelor’s degree recipients

earned $4,400 or more, approximately the average of people with

master’s degrees.

Differences Between

Women and Men

Women and men have distinctly different patterns in their degrees,

fields of training, and earnings. To

begin with, women earned less

than men did at every degree level

(see Table E). Women with high

school or less education earned

just under $600 less per month

than comparable men, and women

with bachelor’s degrees earned, on

average, $1,400 less per month

than men. At the advanced degree

level, the difference was approximately $2,000 per month.

In addition to education, labor

force experience varies greatly

among women. As a consequence,

one might expect that women’s

earnings would be more variable

than men’s earnings. In fact, the

opposite was true: the difference

between the 75th percentile and

the 25th percentile of earnings was

as great or greater for men than for

women at every education level.

This lack of earnings variation

among women may be due, in part,

Figure 3.

Monthly Earnings by Field of Training for 

Selected Education Levels: 1996

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.

(Population age 18 and over with earnings, employed 

full-time for previous 4 months. Earnings in dollars)

Other

Vocational studies

Education

Science

Social science

Liberal arts

Engineering

Computers

Business

Vocational certificate

Associate degree

Bachelor's degree

2,373

2,727

3,962

2,996

4,416

3,046

3,208

4,680

2,586

3,455

2,660

3,292

2,412

2,783

3,645

2,802

2,429

3,197

2,578

2,804

3,808
8 U.S. Census Bureau

Table E.

Monthly Earnings by Degree Level and Sex: 1996

(Population age 18 and over with earnings, employed full-time for previous 4 months. Earnings in dollars)

Sex and earnings category

Highest degree level

High school

or less

Some

college Vocational Associate Bachelor’s Advanced1

MEN

Measures of Earnings

Average . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,355 2,947 2,861 3,165 4,325 5,987

25th percentile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,357 1,697 1,838 2,000 2,375 3,172

Median . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000 2,475 2,558 2,751 3,461 4,677

75th percentile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WOMEN

Measures of Earnings

2,872 3,573 3,578 3,700 5,000 6,823

Average . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,780 2,146 2,039 2,439 2,944 4,008

25th percentile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,040 1,273 1,257 1,550 1,808 2,475

Median. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,460 1,800 1,771 2,180 2,510 3,444

75th percentile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,025 2,522 2,430 3,000 3,484 4,725

1

Advanced degrees include master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.

Table F.

Monthly Earnings by Degree Level, Sex, and Field of Training: 1996

(Population age 18 and over with earnings, employed full-time for previous 4 months. Earnings in dollars)

Sex and field

Highest degree level

Vocational Associate Bachelor’s Advanced1

MEN

Average Earnings by Field of Training

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) 3,201 4,403 5,845

Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) 3,361 4,859 (B)

Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,072 3,312 4,862 5,662

Liberal arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 2,732 4,035 3,639

Social science, law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) 4,124 6,680

Science, medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) 2,839 4,382 7,745

Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) 3,265 5,931

Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,670 3,434 (X) (X)

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,980 3,128 3,994 4,932

WOMEN

Average Earnings by Field of Training

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,086 2,323 3,092 4,445

Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B)

Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) (B) (B)

Liberal arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 2,440 2,836 3,368

Social science, law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) 2,416 5,042

Science, medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,249 2,757 2,887 4,777

Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) 2,627 3,386

Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B) (B) (X) (X)

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,936 2,381 3,511 3,349

(B) Fewer than 200,000 people. (X) Category not in questionnaire for given degree level.

1

Advanced degrees include master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.
U.S. Census Bureau 9

to a lack of earnings increase with

age.14

Women earned less than men in

most fields of training where comparisons could be made (see Table

F).15 Yet, differences varied by field

and degree level. For example, in

natural science and medicine, no

earnings differences were apparent

for associate degree recipients, but

men with bachelor’s and advanced

degrees earned far more than

14This lack of increase of earnings with age

may reflect several factors. Many older women

have less work experience than similarly aged

men. Also, occupations traditionally chosen by

women tend to have flatter age-earnings profiles. 15Only 17 of 33 possible (field by degree

level) comparisons between men and women

could be made because of sample size restrictions. Of these, 10 showed significantly higher

earnings for men. No field showed higher

earnings for women.

women. At the advanced degree

level, the $3,000 earnings advantage favoring men in natural science and medicine was greater

than the advantage in the liberal

arts ($300, not significantly different from zero). In other fields, different degree levels produced approximately the same result.

Women earned between 70 to 76

percent of what men earned at the

associate, bachelor’s, and advanced

degree levels in business.

At the bachelor’s level, men were

more likely to enroll in higher earning fields such as business and engineering, while the most common

field of training for women was

education (see Figure 4). The fact

that men pursued fields with

higher earnings is part of the

reason that men’s earnings were

higher overall. However, if women

with bachelor’s degrees had pursued fields of training in the same

proportion as men with bachelor’s

degrees, the earnings gap at the

bachelor’s degree level would be

$1,250 rather than $1,380 —

smaller by only 9.5 percent.

High School Equivalency

People can complete their high

school education in a variety of

ways. The General Educational Development test (GED) was developed around the time of World War

II as a new pathway to high school

completion, in part for the benefit

of veterans who had interrupted

their schooling to fight in the war.

The GED tests provide a “second

chance” for many adults to gain a

high school credential. To pass the

tests, individuals must achieve

scores equivalent to those attained

by the top 70 percent of graduating high school seniors. Passing

the GED test is considered by most

states and many federal programs

as formally equivalent to high

school graduation. In recent years,

approximately 700,000 people

have taken the GED exam each

year, with the majority passing and

receiving certification.16

In 1996, 15.6 million adults reported they had received their high

school certification by means of a

GED exam. As shown in Table G,

GED recipients were much less

likely to go on to higher education

than those who earned a regular diploma. For most GED recipients,

high school certification represented the highest level of school

16For a description of GED history and

trends, and a general evaluation of the GED

program see: David Boesel, Nabeel Alsalam and

Thomas M. Smith, Educational and Labor Market Performance of GED Recipients, National

Library of Education, U.S. Department of Education, February 1998.

Figure 4.

Relative Earnings and Proportion of Bachelor's Degree 

Holders Who Are Women by Field of Training: 1996

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.

(Based on women and men whose highest degree is bachelor's degree, 

age 18 and over, with earnings, employed full-time for previous 4 months)

Women's earnings as percent of men's

Percent women in field 

33.7

15.4

48.4 48.8 49.3

72.6

38.5

87.9

80.5

65.9

58.6

70.3 67.3

70.2

Social Science Education Other

science

Liberal

arts

Business Engineering
10 U.S. Census Bureau

Table G.

Pathways to High School Completion, Characteristics of GED and High School Diploma

Holders: 1996

(Population age 18 and over. Earnings are for population age 18 and over with earnings, employed full-time for previous 4 months.

Numbers in thousands, earnings in dollars)

Characteristic

GED holders Diploma holders

Number Percent

Monthly

earnings Number Percent

Monthly

earnings

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,648 100.0 2,451 143,070 100.0 3,061

Highest Degree Level

High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,709 62.0 2,096 52,373 36.6 2,309

Some postsecondary education . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,663 29.8 2,366 51,430 35.9 2,679

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,276 8.2 4,877 39,267 27.4 4,251

Sex

Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,225 52.6 2,757 67,881 47.4 3,476

Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,422 47.4 1,915 75,189 52.6 2,452

Race and Ethnicity

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,915 82.5 2,500 122,125 85.4 3,154

Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,664 74.5 2,574 113,999 79.7 3,219

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,025 12.9 1,990 14,784 10.3 2,366

Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,392 8.9 1,906 8,993 6.3 2,338

Age

18-29 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,407 21.8 1,758 33,640 23.5 2,058

30-49 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,210 46.1 2,594 66,195 46.3 3,264

50 years or older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,030 32.0 2,665 43,235 30.2 3,507

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.

Table H.

Timing of Start and Completion of Postsecondary Certification and Degrees: 1996

(Population age 15 and over)

Degree or certificate

Profes- Vocational Associate Bachelor’s Master’s Doctorate sional Characteristic

Years to Years to Years to Years to Years to Years to Years to Years to Years to

start of complete start of complete start of complete complete complete complete 1 program program program program program program program program program

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 2.6 3.0 4.6 0.9 5.6 7.0 5.5 9.7

Sex

Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 2.9 3.0 4.4 0.8 5.5 6.2 5.5 9.2

Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 2.5 3.0 4.7 0.9 5.8 7.8 5.7 10.7

Race and Ethnicity

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 2.7 2.9 4.5 0.8 5.6 7.0 5.5 9.8

Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 2.7 2.9 4.6 0.8 5.6 7.0 5.6 9.9

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 2.7 3.4 5.3 1.5 6.1 7.7 (B) (B)

Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 2.4 3.0 4.1 1.4 5.4 (B) (B) (B)

(B) Fewer than 200,000 people.

1

Years to start of program measured from high school completion; completion measured from first enrollment in postsecondary education, or

in the case of advanced degrees, from completion of bachelor’s degree.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.
U.S. Census Bureau 11

they completed. However, a minority (38 percent) completed at least

some postsecondary education,

and 8 percent earned a bachelor’s

degree or higher.

GED holders were slightly older

than regular degree recipients (a

greater portion were 50 or older

and a smaller portion were 18 to

29). The GED exam has grown

more popular in recent years,

which would increase the relative

number of young people who have

used this means of completing a

high school credential. However, in

any given year, a large proportion

of people receiving the GED are

older than the typical age of high

school completion.17 This second

factor seems to have offset the

first, so that GED holders were

older than regular high school degree recipients.

GED holders earned substantially

less than people who graduated

high school through traditional

means. The earnings gap is evident across all sex, age, and race

and ethnic groups examined here.

Earnings differences by age were

especially large: people 18 to 29

with a GED earned around $300

per month less than people with a

regular high school diploma. In the

30- to 49-year-old group, the difference was $700. An important factor in these earnings differences

was eventual education. Comparing GED holders and diploma holders who completed no further education beyond high school reveals

a smaller earnings gap than the

overall gap. Much, but not all, of

the advantage of a high school diploma over a GED results from the

higher ultimate education level attained.

17See GED Testing Service, Who Took the

GED? GED 1996 statistical report, Washington,

DC: American Council on Education, 1997.

Time Spent Completing difference between Blacks and HisDegrees panics is significant.

On average, people who pursued

higher degrees spent more than Age and Education Trends

the minimum number of years to Vast changes in education have

complete a degree or certificate. taken place over the last 50 years,

For example, people averaged and this is reflected in the

more than 2 years to complete vo- educational accomplishments of recational programs, even though cent generations. A partial picture

most are designed to take a year or of these patterns can be seen in

less (see Table H). Similarly, associ- the educational history of people of

ate degrees generally require a 2- different ages today.

year course of study, but people

took an average of over 4 years to In 1996, twice as many people age

complete them. Bachelor’s and 25-34 had vocational certification,

higher degrees took an average of associate degrees, bachelor’s, or

5 or more years to complete. A higher degrees than those 65 and

major reason for this gap may be over (see Table I). Most of the 65

that people pursued their studies and over population came of age

part-time or intermittently. Some during the Great Depression or

people drop out of school only to World War II. At that time, high

start again a number of years later. school education was not nearly as

Others take courses part-time while common as it is today and college

working. education was relatively rare.

People who completed bachelor’s The growth in educational attainor higher degrees started their ment was especially evident among

postsecondary education almost women. Among those age 45 and

immediately after high school (an older, men formed a clear majority

average delay of around 1 year). of those with bachelor’s or higher

People earning associate degrees degrees, whereas among those 25

or vocational certificates started to 34, more women than men held

their postsecondary education a bachelor’s degrees. An opposite

little later in life (an average delay trend is apparent in associate and

of 3 to 3.5 years). Many students vocational degrees. Among those

may have used these degrees to over age 55, women were a clear

switch careers or to improve skills. majority of both groups. In the

youngest age group, the proportion

Men and women differ in the time of women to men was much closer,

to complete a degree, but the dif- although women were still a majorference depends on the degree. At ity.

the master’s level, women take

more than a year longer, while they In the 25-34 age group, 30 percent

of bachelor’s degree holders had complete vocational certificates in majored in business, compared about the same time.

with 15 percent of those in the 65

Blacks take longer than White non- and over age group. The dramatic

Hispanics to finish bachelor’s de- rise in bachelor’s degrees in busigrees, but the time for Hispanics is ness was accompanied by a large

not significantly different than for decline in bachelor’s degrees in

White non-Hispanics. The education. At the associate and
12 U.S. Census Bureau

vocational levels, business degrees concretely, it appears that among The longer delays in completing edudeclined as a share of all degrees those whose highest degree was a cation among the oldest cohort may

and certificates, with most of the bachelor’s degree, 85 percent of the relate to wartime interruptions of

offsetting growth in vocational, en- 25-34 age group started college the schooling. Allowing for all these facgineering, and computer-related same year they completed high tors, there may be no overall trend in

credentials. This shift from busi- school, compared with 65 percent of the time it takes to start and comness to engineering and computer- the oldest age group. Once they plete a degree among the cohorts

related degrees across cohorts oc- started school, the youngest group observed here.

curred as the proportion of men of bachelor’s degree holders also apamong the younger holders of as- peared more likely to finish within A note of caution: the educational

sociate and vocational degrees was 5 years than were the members of patterns of age groups observed in

increasing. the oldest group. However, many 1996 were influenced by factors

members of the youngest cohort other than education choices in

Although it appears that younger co- have probably not completed their youth. For example, other sources

horts started and completed their schooling — especially those who show that men with low education

postsecondary schooling more have delayed their postsecondary are less likely to survive into their

quickly than older cohorts, appear- education or who are taking espe- older years than are women with

ances may be deceiving. More cially long to complete their degrees. low education. Differences in

Table I.

Educational Characteristics by Age: 1996

(Population age 25 and over. Numbers in thousands)

Sex, field, and education

timing

Less than high school, high school, or some college Associate or vocational degree

Total

Age

Total

Age

25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Percent of age group at

this education level . . . . .

Sex

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Field of Training

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Engineer, computer . . . . . . .

Liberal arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Social Science, Law . . . . . .

Science, Medicine . . . . . . . .

Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Start of Postsecondary

Education After High

School

Same year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Next 2 years . . . . . . . . . . . . .

More than 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Completion of Postsecondary Education

Within a year. . . . . . . . . . . . .

In scheduled time1. . . . . . . .

Longer than1 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Continuously enrolled . . . . .

111,942

66.2

46.9

53.1

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

21,177

62.2

51.0

49.0

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

26,326

60.7

50.2

49.8

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

19,696

60.8

46.6

53.4

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

15,224

72.4

46.0

54.0

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

25,519

80.2

40.5

59.5

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

(X)

18,547

11.0

42.3

57.7

22.8

10.7

5.7

2.6

19.1

2.3

17.8

19.1

50.9

19.1

30.0

9.2

46.9

44.0

(X)

5,161

12.7

44.1

55.9

18.7

12.6

6.3

3.3

18.1

1.9

19.3

19.8

53.7

23.6

22.6

10.2

49.7

40.1

(X)

5,815

13.4

45.0

55.0

21.6

11.4

5.7

2.7

19.2

2.3

19.0

18.2

51.7

18.2

30.1

7.6

47.7

44.7

(X)

3,748

11.6

43.0

57.0

24.2

10.3

5.4

2.3

19.3

1.9

16.6

20.0

48.9

14.3

36.8

7.6

45.9

46.5

(X)

1,748

8.3

40.2

59.8

26.1

8.7

4.3

2.6

21.7

2.8

15.1

18.8

45.6

16.9

37.6

10.6

41.2

48.3

(X)

2,075

6.5

30.7

69.3

31.6

6.3

6.1

1.3

18.3

3.6

14.8

18.2

49.1

21.1

29.8

12.6

44.0

43.4

(X)

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau 13

mortality would act to widen edu- Source of the Data from the Education and Training

cational differences in favor of men History topical module collected in The estimates in this report come at ages 65 and over. Also, some the second interview of the 1996 from the Survey of Income and Pro- groups are more likely than others panel of the SIPP and covering the gram Participation (SIPP). The SIPP to return to school later in life to 4-month period from August to No- is a longitudinal survey of people obtain higher degrees. These phe- vember 1996. The tabulations re- who are at least 15 years old con- nomena would dampen the appar- ported here refer to experiences in ducted at 4-month intervals by the ent convergence in education of the previous 4 months from the Census Bureau. Although the main women (towards men) and Blacks time of interview. Because differ- focus of SIPP is information on la-

(towards Whites), because these ent households were interviewed at bor force participation, jobs, in- groups often extend their educa- different times, the reference pe- come, and participation in federal tion to later years. riod was different, depending on assistance programs, information when the questionnaire was admin- on other topics is also collected in istered. topical modules on a rotating basis. Data shown in this report are

Table I.

Educational Characteristics by Age: 1996—Continued

(Population age 25 and over. Numbers in thousands)

Bachelor’s degree Advanced degree

Sex, field, and education Age Age timing

Total 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Total 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,600 8,033 7,490 5,127 2,379 2,571 13,053 2,136 3,745 3,847 1,686 1,639

Percent of age group at

this education level . . . . . 15.1 19.8 17.3 15.8 11.3 8.1 7.7 5.3 8.6 11.9 8.0 5.2

Sex

Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.9 46.6 48.5 54.2 54.5 51.7 57.4 54.4 53.3 58.7 61.3 63.9

Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.1 53.4 51.5 45.8 45.5 48.3 42.6 45.6 46.7 41.3 38.7 36.1

Field of Training

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.4 29.7 26.2 23.4 23.8 15.4 15.5 19.2 17.9 14.4 13.1 10.2

Engineer, computer . . . . . . . 12.2 12.7 11.4 11.5 12.4 14.0 9.9 14.9 10.9 7.2 9.8 7.4

Liberal arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.2 13.6 13.6 14.1 14.9 17.3 9.2 7.5 7.6 10.0 11.2 11.3

Social science, law . . . . . . . 8.4 8.8 8.5 9.5 5.9 7.2 15.4 18.1 15.2 16.1 12.5 13.5

Science, medicine . . . . . . . . 12.5 12.9 13.4 11.2 12.2 11.2 15.1 16.2 15.8 12.6 14.4 18.5

Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.2 8.7 12.5 18.8 18.9 22.9 22.4 12.5 18.2 26.8 27.3 29.2

Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.1 13.6 14.4 11.6 11.8 12.0 12.6 11.7 14.3 12.8 11.7 9.9

Start of Postsecondary

Education After High

School

Same year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.4 84.8 79.8 75.8 72.1 65.0 81.7 87.4 83.4 84.5 81.3 64.4

Next 2 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 10.4 12.2 10.8 11.1 16.6 11.1 11.6 10.6 9.3 7.9 18.9

More than 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 4.8 7.9 13.3 16.7 18.4 7.2 1.0 6.0 6.2 10.8 16.7

Completion of Postsecondary Education

Within a year. . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

In scheduled time1. . . . . . . . 71.2 74.9 73.4 65.5 67.1 68.1 7.8 8.8 6.9 7.7 6.4 10.6

Longer than1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.8 25.1 26.6 34.5 32.9 31.9 92.1 91.2 93.1 92.3 93.6 89.4

Continuously enrolled . . . . 73.3 79.9 73.3 67.1 69.9 68.5 80.4 90.8 81.7 78.8 77.3 71.1

(X) Does not apply.

1

‘‘In scheduled time’’ refers to those who completed associate degree training at least 1 year but no more than 3 years after entering postsecondary education or who completed bachelor’s degree training no more than 5 years after entering postsecondary education. ‘‘Longer than’’

refers to those who did not complete their training within this time.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 Panel.
14 U.S. Census Bureau

The Education and Training History Because the SIPP is a sample sur- surveys, testing the wording of

topical module included questions vey, there are not always enough questions, review of the work of inon degrees earned, the year in sample cases to provide statisti- terviewers and coders, and statistiwhich they were received, and the cally reliable estimates of every cal review of reports.

major field of training. Questions field and degree combination.

about the type of high school at- Cells show estimated earnings and The SIPP employs ratio estimation,

tended, high school course work, other characteristics when they whereby sample estimates are adand adult work training were not have an estimated base of at least justed to independent estimates of

analyzed in this report. Degree 200,000 people. the national population by age,

status has been defined in this re- race, sex, and Hispanic origin.

port to include mutually exclusive Average monthly earnings is com- This weighting partially corrects for

categories. Those without postsec- puted as the total of all earnings bias due to undercoverage, but

ondary degrees fall in three catego- over the 4-month period divided by how it affects different variables in

ries: people who have not com- the number of months in which the survey is not precisely known.

pleted high school, those earnings were received. Earnings Moreover, biases may also be

completing high school only (high refers to wages and/or salary from present when people who are

school diploma or equivalent, in- one or more jobs (including self- missed in the survey differ from

cluding GED), and people who have employment). Average monthly those interviewed in ways other

attended postsecondary school but earnings are calculated this way than the categories used in weightdid not receive a degree. Higher because some jobs are seasonal, ing (age, race, sex, and Hispanic

degree levels were determined by may not pay on a regular monthly origin). All of these considerations

the highest degree received: diplo- basis, or because people may have affect comparisons across different

mas or certificates from a voca- only recently begun or ended a job. surveys or data sources.

tional, technical, trade, or business For further information on statisti- school beyond the high school Accuracy and Reliability of cal standards and the computation level; associate degrees; bachelor’s the Data

and use of standard errors, contact degrees (for example: B.A., A.B., Statistics from sample surveys are Mark Gorsak, Demographic Statisti- B.S.); master’s degrees (for ex- subject to sampling and nonsam- cal Methods Division, at 301-457- ample: M.A., M.S., M.Eng., M.Ed., pling error. All comparisons pre- 4228 or on the Internet at M.S.W., M.B.A.); professional de- sented in this report have taken Mark.Gorsak@census.gov. grees (for example: M.D., D.D.S., sampling error into account and D.V.M., L.L.B., J.D.); and doctoral meet the U.S. Census Bureau’s standegrees (for example: Ph.D., Ed.D.). More Information dards for statistical significance. Individuals were asked to identify Nonsampling errors in surveys may A detailed set of tables has been

their highest degree, and their im- be attributed to a variety of prepared showing income, earnplicit ordering of degrees was not sources, such as how the survey ings, occupation, and time to deexamined. Whether one degree ac- was designed, how respondents gree, by highest degree, field of

tually represents more education interpret questions, how able and training, and various social and dethan another degree is not at issue. willing respondents are to provide mographic characteristics. This

While data may show the highest correct answers, and how accu- table package is available on paper

value on some scale (for example, rately answers are coded and clas- for $26.00 (PPL-141) from the

income) for one degree, the same sified. The Census Bureau employs Population Division’s Statistical Indegree could result in less than the quality control procedures through- formation Office (301-457-2422).

highest score on another scale out the production process — in- The table package is also available

(e.g., years to complete the de- cluding the overall design of on the Internet (www.census.gov);

gree).
U.S. Census Bureau 15

in the “Subjects A-Z” area, click on Contacts User Comments

“E” for “Education Data” and then Statistical Information Office The Census Bureau welcomes the

on “Field of Training.” Alternatively, Population Division comments and advice of users of

go directly to the site: pop@census.gov our data products and reports. If www.census.gov/population/www/ 301-457-2422 you have any suggestions or com- socdemo/fld-of-trn.html. See also ments, please write to: the SIPP Web site: Kurt J. Bauman or Camille Ryan

www.sipp.census.gov/sipp. Education and Social Stratification Chief, Population Division

 Branch U.S. Census Bureau

Population Division Washington, DC 20233

kurt.j.bauman@census.gov

camille.l.ryan@census.gov or send e-mail to:

301-457-2464 pop@census.gov
16 U.S. Census Bureau

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