by John Finamore and Daniel Foley[1]
The number of college graduates in the United States doubled between 1993 and 2015, from 29 million to 58 million, according to data from the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation. During this time, the number of college graduates educated or employed in science and engineering (S&E) or S&E-related fields grew from 14 million in 1993 to 31 million in 2015.
The NSCG is an important source of information on the education and career paths of the nation's college-educated scientists and engineers as well as college graduates not educated or employed in S&E fields. In 2015, for the first time, the NSCG collected information to allow the examination of certification and licensure prevalence among the nation's college-educated population. In February 2015, 39% of the college-educated population in the United States held a currently active certification or license. Certifications and licenses generally are associated with an occupation, technology, or industry, and recognize professionals who meet established knowledge, skill, and competency standards necessary to perform a specific job. Some occupations require a certification or license as a condition of employment. For other occupations, these credentials are designed to improve an individual's abilities and increase the potential for promotion or advancement.
This InfoBrief describes certification and licensure prevalence among the nation's college-educated population and examines the effect of these credentials on employment. Among individuals with at least a bachelor's degree, the prevalence rate for certifications and licenses varied by degree level, labor force status, and occupation field. Within occupation fields that had higher certification and license prevalence rates, college-educated individuals with a certification or license typically earned more than those without these credentials.
Certifications and licenses among the college-educated population were most prevalent at the professional degree and master's degree levels. Of professional degree holders, 87% also held at least one certification or license, as did 48% of all master's degree holders (table 1). For bachelor's and doctorate degree holders, the certification and licensure prevalence rates were similar at approximately 30%. The high certification and licensure prevalence rates among individuals with professional degrees and master's degrees may be attributed to the occupation fields these degree holders pursue and the credential requirements associated with these fields. The majority of professional degree holders work in health or legal occupations (82%), and a sizable percentage of master's degree holders are employed in education (22%). Most health, legal, and education positions have certification or license requirements to maintain employment.
NOTES: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. College graduates include individuals under the age of 76 with degrees at the bachelor's level or higher. Total includes an estimated 412,000 graduates who reported having never worked for pay or profit and were included in those with no certification or license. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Survey of College Graduates, 2015. |
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Characteristic | Total | No certification or license | At least one certification or license |
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Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||||
All college graduates | 58,006,000 | 35,403,000 | 61.0 | 22,603,000 | 39.0 | ||
Highest degree of educational attainment | |||||||
Bachelor's | 36,530,000 | 25,154,000 | 68.9 | 11,376,000 | 31.1 | ||
Master's | 16,207,000 | 8,413,000 | 51.9 | 7,794,000 | 48.1 | ||
Doctorate | 2,003,000 | 1,405,000 | 70.1 | 598,000 | 29.9 | ||
Professional | 3,266,000 | 431,000 | 13.2 | 2,835,000 | 86.8 | ||
Labor force status | |||||||
Employed | 45,941,000 | 26,258,000 | 57.2 | 19,683,000 | 42.8 | ||
Full time | 38,469,000 | 21,894,000 | 56.9 | 16,575,000 | 43.1 | ||
Part time | 7,472,000 | 4,365,000 | 58.4 | 3,108,000 | 41.6 | ||
Unemployed | 1,689,000 | 1,287,000 | 76.2 | 402,000 | 23.8 | ||
Not in labor force | 10,375,000 | 7,858,000 | 75.7 | 2,518,000 | 24.3 |
Within the college-educated population, employed individuals were more likely to hold a currently active certification or license (43%) than unemployed individuals (24%) or individuals not in the labor force (24%).[2] Among workers, the certification and license prevalence rates varied across occupations. At the broad occupation level, workers in S&E occupations (24%) were less likely to hold a certification or license than those in S&E-related occupations (77%) or non-S&E occupations (38%). The specific occupations in which college-educated workers had the highest certification or license prevalence rates were legal occupations (94%), science and engineering pre-college teachers (91%), health occupations (89%), and other education-related occupations (84%)[3] (table 2).
S&E = science and engineering. NOTES: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Salaries are rounded to the nearest $1,000. College graduates include individuals under the age of 76 with degrees at the bachelor's level or higher. SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Survey of College Graduates, 2015. |
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Occupation | Total | No certification or license | At least one certification or license |
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Number | Percent | Median Annual Salary ($) |
Number | Percent | Median Annual Salary ($) |
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All employed college graduates | 45,941,000 | 26,258,000 | 57.2 | 56,000 | 19,683,000 | 42.8 | 64,000 | ||
S&E occupations | 6,407,000 | 4,891,000 | 76.3 | 83,000 | 1,516,000 | 23.7 | 85,000 | ||
Computer and mathematical scientists | 3,156,000 | 2,510,000 | 79.5 | 87,000 | 646,000 | 20.5 | 89,000 | ||
Biological, agricultural, and environmental life sciences | 631,000 | 526,000 | 83.3 | 55,000 | 106,000 | 16.7 | 62,000 | ||
Physical and related scientists | 331,000 | 291,000 | 87.9 | 71,000 | 40,000 | 12.1 | 68,000 | ||
Social and related scientists | 570,000 | 362,000 | 63.4 | 55,000 | 208,000 | 36.6 | 66,000 | ||
Psychologists | 213,000 | 52,000 | 24.2 | 40,000 | 161,000 | 75.8 | 66,000 | ||
Other social and related scientists | 357,000 | 310,000 | 86.9 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 13.1 | 60,000 | ||
Engineers | 1,719,000 | 1,204,000 | 70.0 | 90,000 | 515,000 | 30.0 | 90,000 | ||
Civil, architectural or sanitary engineers | 251,000 | 70,000 | 28.1 | 64,000 | 180,000 | 71.9 | 85,000 | ||
Other engineers | 1,468,000 | 1,133,000 | 77.2 | 92,000 | 335,000 | 22.8 | 95,000 | ||
S&E-related occupations | 7,867,000 | 1,844,000 | 23.4 | 64,000 | 6,024,000 | 76.6 | 68,000 | ||
Health occupations | 4,883,000 | 562,000 | 11.5 | 35,000 | 4,321,000 | 88.5 | 70,000 | ||
S&E managers | 967,000 | 475,000 | 49.2 | 125,000 | 491,000 | 50.8 | 120,000 | ||
S&E pre-college teachers | 1,029,000 | 96,000 | 9.3 | 35,000 | 933,000 | 90.7 | 50,000 | ||
S&E technicians and technologists | 782,000 | 612,000 | 78.2 | 70,000 | 170,000 | 21.8 | 68,000 | ||
Other S&E-related occupations | 207,000 | 98,000 | 47.3 | 60,000 | 109,000 | 52.7 | 75,000 | ||
Non-S&E occupations | 31,667,000 | 19,523,000 | 61.7 | 50,000 | 12,143,000 | 38.3 | 60,000 | ||
Non-S&E managers and management-related occupations | 10,290,000 | 6,888,000 | 66.9 | 75,000 | 3,403,000 | 33.1 | 90,000 | ||
Non-S&E pre-college teachers | 4,080,000 | 675,000 | 16.5 | 22,000 | 3,405,000 | 83.5 | 48,000 | ||
Lawyers and judges | 1,252,000 | 81,000 | 6.5 | 96,000 | 1,171,000 | 93.5 | 105,000 | ||
Other non-S&E occupations | 16,044,000 | 11,880,000 | 74.0 | 40,000 | 4,165,000 | 26.0 | 49,000 | ||
Overall, employed college graduates with a certification or license earned more than those without a credential beyond their highest college degree. The median annual salary for an individual with a certification or license in addition to a college degree was $64,000 compared to $56,000 for an individual with only a college degree. The association of a certification or license with a higher median salary varied by occupation. For occupation fields in which at least one-third of workers reported a certification or license, the individuals that held a certification or license generally showed a higher median annual salary compared to those with no credential beyond their highest college degree.
In the NSCG, college graduates are defined as individuals under the age of 76 who have earned a degree at the bachelor's level or higher.
A certification refers to a credential awarded by a certification body based on an individual demonstrating through an examination process that he or she has acquired the designated knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform a specific job. The examination can be either written, oral, or performance-based. Certification is a time-limited credential that is renewed through a recertification process.[4]
A license refers to a credential awarded by a government agency that constitutes legal authority to do a specific job. Licenses are based on some combination of degree or certificate attainment, certifications, assessments, or work experience; are time-limited; and must be renewed periodically.[4]
For detailed information on the occupation categories and degree field categories collected in the NSCG, please see https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/docs/occ03maj.html and https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/docs/ed03maj.html.
Data presented here are from the 2015 NSCG, an ongoing longitudinal survey that biennially collects a wide range of information on the employment, education, and demographic characteristics of the nation's college-educated population. Through the use of a rotating panel sample design, the NSCG collects data from individuals during four survey cycles over a 6-year period.
The 2015 NSCG surveyed approximately 90,000 individuals representing college graduates residing in the United States as of February 2015 with at least one degree earned before January 2014. By surveying the college-educated population, the NSCG provides information on individuals educated or employed in S&E fields as well as those educated or employed in S&E-related and non-S&E fields. For further survey information, please visit the NSCG website (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygrads).
The estimates in this InfoBrief are based on responses from a sample of the population and may differ from actual values because of sampling variability or other factors. As a result, apparent differences between the estimates for two or more groups may not be statistically significant. All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90% confidence level unless otherwise noted. In this report, the variances of estimates were calculated using the successive difference replication method.
Data presented in this report are available through NCSES's Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System data tool at https://sestat.nsf.gov/sestat/sestat.html. The 2015 NSCG public use data files are available at https://sestat.nsf.gov/datadownload.
[1] John Finamore (jfinamor@nsf.gov; 703-292-2258) and Daniel Foley (dfoley@nsf.gov; 703-292-7811), Human Resources Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230.
[2] There is no significant difference in the certification and licensure prevalence rates for unemployed individuals and individuals not in the labor force.
[3] There is no significant difference in the certification and licensure prevalence rates for workers in legal occupations and S&E pre-college teachers, and there is no significant difference in the certification and licensure prevalence rates for S&E pre-college teachers and workers in health occupations.
[4] The Interagency Working Group on Expanded Measures of Enrollment and Attainment (GEMEnA) developed these working definitions of industry-recognized certifications and occupational licenses to establish and maintain consistency in measurement across federal statistical surveys. For more information, please visit the GEMEnA website (https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/GEMEnA/).