Workforce Outcomes for Utah
Associate Degree Recipients

Published November 2022

Overview

With the price of college increasing, individuals who want to enroll in postsecondary education need information about employment opportunities after graduation. While the literature on bachelor’s degree wage outcomes is vast, the research on associate degrees is small. In addition, most research that includes associate degrees does not distinguish between Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and transfer associate degrees.

Different types of associate degrees are available depending on the student's desired outcome after receiving their degree. AAS degrees are for individuals who want to start a career after receiving their diploma; transfer associate degrees are for individuals who plan to continue their education and earn another degree, typically bachelor’s degrees. Transfer associate degrees include degrees such as Associate of Science and Associate of Arts. Given the differences in the degree types, it is likely that the wages they receive will be different, so any analysis that does not make distinctions between them will not capture the differences in workforce outcomes.

Using data from the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) and the Department of Workforce Service’s (DWS) Unemployment Insurance (UI) data, we matched individuals who graduated from a USHE institution in the 2014 cohort with their UI wages before and after receiving their degrees. This study focuses on the difference in wages between Associate of Applied Science (AAS), transfer associate (AS/AA), and bachelor’s degree recipients. The analyses include bachelor's degree wages as a reference point.

Summary of Findings:

Finding 1

Initially, after graduating, Associate of Applied Science (AAS) recipients had higher quarterly wages than bachelor’s and transfer associate degree recipients.

Finding 2

Non-white associate degree recipients usually earned less than their white counterparts.

Finding 3

Between the first and fifth year after graduating, transfer associate and bachelor’s degree recipients had higher wage growth than AAS graduates.

Finding 4

Those who earned an associate degree in a Health field earned significantly less than other common fields of study (CIPs).

Finding 1: Initially, after graduating, AAS recipients had the highest quarterly wages among bachelor’s and transfer associate degree recipients.

Before graduating,
in the first quarter
of 2010, each degree
had insignificantly
different wages
from one another.

After graduating,
transfer associate
recipents had
different wage outcomes
than AAS and bachelor's recipents.

Major Findings

  • Before graduating, the wages of all degree recipients (AAS, transfer associate, and bachelor's) were not significantly different from each other.
  • The quarter after graduating, AAS recipients experienced the largest quarterly wage increase, earning over $9,000/quarter, whereas transfer associate recipients received just over $7,300/quarter.
  • By the end of the analysis, the fourth quarter of 2019 (2019Q4), AAS and bachelor’s degree recipients’ wages were comparable to one another, with the wages being $14,515 and $14,764, respectively. In addition, transfer associate recipients narrowed the gap between their and AAS recipients, though they were still earning significantly less at $13,145.
Figure 1: The figure below looks at the trend of quarterly wages that AAS, bachelor’s, and transfer associate recipients earned from 2010Q1 to 2019Q4.

Finding 2: Non-white associate degree recipients usually earned less than their white counterparts.

In 2010Q1,
the quarterly wages
between white
and non-white
individuals were
not significantly different
from one another.

After graduating,
non-white women
who earned transfer
associate degrees were
the only non-white subgroup
to earn more than
their white counterparts.

Major Findings

  • After graduating, white men who received AAS degrees received the highest quarterly income, earning $10,370, or over $1,500 more than their non-white counterparts who earned $8,739. The difference shrunk to $755 by the end of the analysis, or $14,108 for white men and $13,353 for non-white men.
  • Similarly, transfer associate recipients who were white men earned $10,144, non-white men earned $8,773 their first quarter after graduating, a difference of $1,371. The difference grew to $2,533 by 2019Q4, with white and non-white men earning $15,167 and $12,634, respectively.
  • Non-white women with AAS degrees earned $7,058, or $909 less than their white counterparts, who earned $7,967 in the first quarter after graduating. In 2019Q4, white women were still receiving a higher quarterly income at $10,935. However, non-white women earned $10,558, a difference of $377.
  • Non-white women transfer associate recipients were the only subgroup to earn more than their white counterparts. Their first quarter after graduating, non-white women earned $7,387, while white women earned $7,094, a difference of $292. In 2019Q4, non-white women earned $11,242, and the difference grew to $1,122, with white women earning $10,120.
Figure 2: The figures below look at the trend of quarterly wages that white and non-white men and women associate degree earners experienced from 2010Q1 to 2020Q4

Finding 3: Between the first and fifth year after graduating, transfer associate and bachelor’s degree recipients had higher wage growth than AAS graduates.

Transfer associate wages
increased
22% less
than bachelor's wages
after graduation.

After graduating,
AAS recipients
saw their quarterly income
increase by
$4,584.

Major Findings

  • The average wage increase between the first and fifth year after graduating for men with AAS degrees was $4,584. In comparison, the average increase for transfer associate and bachelor’s degree graduates is $5,479 and $7,036, respectively.
  • Women with AAS degrees saw their wages increase by $2,270, or only 49.52% of what men with AAS degrees received. Whereas transfer associates earned $2,702 (49.33%), and bachelor’s graduates earned $4,142 (58.87%).
Table 1: The table below shows that men had higher wage growth than women between the first and fifth year after college for each degree type. Statistical Significance: ***p<0.001; **p<0.01; *p<0.05.
Degree Type Men
(average difference in wages)		 Women
(average difference in wages)

AAS

 $4,584*** $2,270***
Transfer AS/AA $5,479*** $2,702***
BS/BA $7,036*** $4,142***

Finding 4: Those who earned an associate degree in a Health field earned significantly less than other common fields of study (CIPs).

Graduates from Health
programs,
on average,
earned about
$1,000 less
than Other
program graduates.

Besides the Health
program, the
other top-five CIPs had
the same wage growth
between their first
and fifth year
after graduating.

Major Findings

  • Health is the only CIP with significantly different wages from the reference group. Other than the top five in this analysis, transfer associate recipients who graduated from a health program earn about $1,000 less.
  • The other top-five programs, Liberal Arts, Business, Education, and Performing Arts, all had insignificantly different wage growth.
  • Consistent with other analyses in this research, women have significantly lower wages, earning $4,759 per quarter, or 77.70% of men’s wages.
Table 2: The table below indicates that students who graduated from a Health program were the only students to have significantly different wages from individuals who received transfer associate degrees. Statistical significance: ***p<0.001; **p<0.01; *p<0.05; †p<0.1.
Model Term Wage

Transfer AS/AA

 $6,125
Liberal Arts -$759† 
Business $855
Health -997*
Education -$2,747†
Performing Arts $265

Limitations

  • DWS data does not include the hours or hourly wage for employees. A minimum quarterly wage of $3,770 was used to approximate full time employment. This value is based on 40 hours of employment each week at a federal minimum wage.
  • This study only includes individuals from USHE institutions. Private institutions, such as Brigham Young University, Ensign College, Western Governor’s University, and Westminster College are not included.
  • The DWS Unemployment Insurance wage record does not include wages for self-employed individuals or those employed at non-profit institutions, so wages for those individuals are not included in the study.

Conclusion

  • This study illustrates that earning any of the postsecondary degrees examined in this study significantly increases quarterly earnings compared to the wages received prior to graduating.
  • AAS recipients had the largest increase in their wages initially after graduating, though transfer associate and bachelor’s degree recipients experienced a higher rate increase in their wages between the first and fifth year after graduating.
  • The program a student graduates from can impact the wage they receive. Health was the only program to have significantly different wages from other CIPs that were observed for associate degree recipients.
  • Women, across each analysis performed, earned significantly less than their male counterparts.

Full Report

Learn more about associate degrees and workforce outcomes

This report analyses Associate of Applied Science (AAS), transfer associate, and Bachelor’s degree recipients. We specifically analyzed the wage difference between the first and fifth years after completing a postsecondary award . Furthermore, we considered the program that students graduated from and compared their wages to each other.

Workforce outcomes for Utah Associate Degree Receipients report cover

Glossary

Project
Team

Connor Hill

Researcher
(Analysis/
Report Author)

Laura Dahl, PhD

UX Researcher
(Graphics/
Web Design)