Kristyn Frank & David Walters examine the influence that field of study and level of post-secondary education have on the earnings of recent graduates in Ontario in Exploring the Alignment Between Post-Secondary Education Programs and Earnings: An Examination of 2005 Ontario Graduates. Graduates of trades, community college, and university programs are compared.
Results suggest that graduates of applied and technical programs obtain higher earnings within two years of graduation than graduates of liberal arts programs. University graduates also fare better than college and trades graduates, whereas male graduates of trades programs are found to obtain higher earnings than college graduates.
Figure 1 is derived from the estimates from the author’s Model. The figure reveals the relationship between earnings and level of schooling separately for males and females. In general, the pattern of the earning estimates indicated that graduates with advanced credentials reported higher earnings. For example, graduates with advanced university degrees reported the highest earnings ($58,943 for males, $52,654 for females), followed by university undergraduates ($47,100 for males, $43,446 for females), and then followed by community college graduates ($37,327 for males, $33,363 for females). There was an interesting exception for the comparison of trades and community college graduates. Although females with community college diplomas have higher estimated earnings ($33,363) than their counterparts with trade certificates ($30,423), males who received trade certificates in 2005 had higher estimated yearly earnings in 2007 ($39,700) than their counterparts who graduated from community college programs in the same year ($37,327).
This study provides updated information for policy officials involved with allocating government funding to post-secondary education in Ontario.
Adapted chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from
Job Market Monitor 
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