We all want to know which colleges and training programs are best at helping people land a job in the field they want as well as earn enough to pay back student loans and support a family. The Graduate Employment Outcomes online tool has just been updated to display job and earnings outcomes for the class of 2020-21 from 98 institutions of higher education in Minnesota.

Here is an example of what you can find by using the tool:

• What are the highest and lowest paying fields of study in Minnesota?
• Are there differences in what students have been able to do with the same degree attained at different schools with comparable characteristics? Users can compare employability, wages and wage growth from two to eight years after graduation.
• How many graduates at each school found stable, full-time jobs from two to four years after graduation?
• Are graduates employed in industries related to the fields they trained for? At what wages?
• Are graduates employed in the same region where they attended school? How many relocated to a different region of the state, and how do wages differ by region?

Comparisons by detailed degree and major at each college often reveal that what you study is more important than where you study. Information in the tool can help prospective students decide how much they can afford to borrow and how long it might take to pay off their loans.

The tool also represents an essential source of intelligence for postsecondary schools to identify which programs and academic specialties are in highest demand locally and decide how program offerings can be improved.

In addition, the new College Major to Industry of Employment tool has been launched, showing which industries hired graduates from 405 different postsecondary programs of study in Minnesota. Thanks to this unprecedented level of detail, prospective and current students can examine whether the sectors with highest employability match their career goals and earnings expectations.

Both tools help students and their families find the academic program that best matches a student's career goals, academic strengths and market demand for the skills acquired at school.

The workforce and education data displayed in these tools were collected through the Statewide Longitudinal Educational Data System (SLEDS), a collaborative effort of DEED and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Wage records, based on employer payroll and tax reporting systems, offer the most accurate measurement of an individual's total earnings, including overtime and bonus pay.

Find out more about these tools in these three articles I authored for the March 2024 edition of Minnesota Economic Trends:

• How Well Does a College Education Pay?
• From College Major to Industry of Employment
• Where Do Recent Graduates Find Jobs?