A 2-Year College Degree May Earn You More Than a 4-Year

Study shows benefits, but not for bachelor's degree-holders

Some students who earn an associate’s degree after two years of college can earn higher salaries than those with a bachelor's degree after a four-year program, according to a new report. There's a catch, however. CollegeMeasures.org found that students who had “occupational/technical” associate’s degrees—nurses, computer specialists, mechanical technicians—made about $6,000 a year more than those in non-occupational programs, i.e. political science, history, and English majors.  "In general, majors that are linked to occupations have better employment prospects than majors focused on general skills," said a report published earlier this year by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. In a study published earlier this year by the Census Bureau, college graduates with science and engineering degrees were about 10 percentage points more likely to be employed full-time than the average of all graduates. Graduates of two-year nursing programs earned an average of $45,342, while English majors only earned $29,222 a year. (Today)

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