--- title: How Short-Term Community College Courses Help Boost Your Salary description: Completing a short-term occupational training course at a community college nets workers an average 3.8% salary increase, new research finds. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 597 covers: - Education - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Kaitlin Mulhere role: Editor url: https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/ bio: Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. Since joining in 2015, she’s written and edited about a variety of personal finance topics, including banks, credit, student debt, saving strategies and more. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2015 articles: 217 covers: - Education - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/KMulhere - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-mulhere-64503048/ published: '2025-11-25T17:01:48.000Z' modified: '2025-11-25T17:01:48.000Z' section: Education tags: - News word_count: 564 canonical: https://money.com/community-college-workforce-training-courses-salary-increase/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![A woman raising her hand to ask a question in a College classroom](https://img.money.com/2025/11/College-Boost-Wages-Course.jpg) Completing a short-term noncredit program at a community college can unlock a quick wage boost, a new study found. While a large body of research exists on the relationship between wages and postsecondary degrees, much less attention has been paid to occupational training programs offered by community colleges that can be completed in a few hundred hours or less. Successfully completing one of these occupational programs typically nets workers a pay increase of 3.8%, according to a [new article](https://www.aera.net/Newsroom/Labor-Market-Returns-to-Community-College-Noncredit-Occupational-Education) published in *Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis*, a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Educational Research Association. "Whether noncredit occupation training pays off for students has been an open question for some time," coauthor Peter Riley Bahr, vice president of employer alignment at the Strada Education Foundation, said in a release. "We find that earnings gains are quite robust in some fields." The release of the study comes as some career and technical education programs are expected to grow in the coming years, thanks to a legislative provision that expands Pell Grants for workforce job training programs. Beginning July 1, 2026, some workforce training programs between 150 and 599 hours in length are becoming eligible under a section in the GOP tax law passed earlier this year. States are still sorting out the rules and determining which workforce training programs may be eligible for the federal need-based aid program. The amount of the awards will depend on the program's length and student's financial need, but they could reach up to about $4,000 and in many cases would be enough to cover most, if not, all of a program's tuition. Over 4 million students already participate in noncredit programs per year, according to the [American Association of Community Colleges](https://www.ccdaily.com/2025/02/aacc-fast-facts-2025/). But it's worth noting that figure includes [non-workforce education programs](https://www.luminafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Four.things.we_.need_.to_.know_.pdf) like English as a second language courses. ## Noncredit occupational training programs boost wages: Study The new research finds "modest but statistically significant" earnings gains for students completing short-term workforce training programs. It documents an average earnings increase of about $2,000 per year (in 2019 dollars) within two years of finishing the training, the article says. Not all programs deliver the boost in outcomes. The study, which looked at data from Texas programs, found that wage benefits vary by field, among other factors. Transportation and engineering technologies programs deliver returns that "are two to four times greater than the average." However, the wage gains in programs in business and marketing, information sciences, communication and design "are statistically indistinguishable from zero." The dataset covers nearly 130,000 students who "participated exclusively" in noncredit programs at community colleges in the state and enrolled between fall 2011 and fall 2014. The researchers also stress that program costs vary significantly, which influences the net payoff of the training, though that data was not explored in the study. The bottom line: The research builds on a still-limited but growing literature on the outcomes of shorter-term workforce training programs. The good news? There is definitely potential to see your wages grow after completing a noncredit program. But with some returning little-to-no financial benefits, it's critical that you research programs thoroughly before enrolling. ## Compare Student Loan companies to find the right fit ### Cover up to 100% of your college costs ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/24903/medium_b6089714-807b-4b5a-88f9-defb35d74711.png) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/2bd3360ff4f9?bidid=4029561467&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=662271611&ptoken=e1f02ea5ab196c53e82b98deb53bce1e) ### Apply online in minutes ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29957/medium_1bf2c50c-d2fe-4492-bad2-f4bca2475954.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/09931fb94942?bidid=4029561465&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=662271611&ptoken=df1f69d7109a38edc05a02cba3f98a45) ### No fees ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38573/medium_5a7ddb75-a315-44cf-8526-1594057ec7d6.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/84b33c4f8d63?bidid=4029561470&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=662271611&ptoken=e0cc34f477a36d53a9e18e59f6671752) ### Provides customized private loan options for students ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38575/medium_3b0e137f-8ec1-4f32-a340-85efa53e0aab.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/b29cb7da65e6?bidid=4029561469&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=662271611&ptoken=629086f731dc9c9e3a4884a7924b1ad2) ### Rates starting at 2.99% ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38576/medium_d3a42618-1276-44ce-95cf-561a8f89efa8.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/e69e31b69f3a?bidid=4029561472&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=662271611&ptoken=b3ab12cdfdcffa282878c66f5d122a84) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/24903/medium_b6089714-807b-4b5a-88f9-defb35d74711.png) Reach new academic heights with College Ave [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/y61180a308af?ap_referrer=%2Fcommunity-college-workforce-training-courses-salary-increase%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/community-college-workforce-training-courses-salary-increase/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Education", "item": "https://money.com/education/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "News", "item": "https://money.com/tag/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How Short-Term Community College Courses Help Boost Your Salary" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/community-college-workforce-training-courses-salary-increase/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/community-college-workforce-training-courses-salary-increase/", "name": "How Short-Term Community College Courses Help Boost Your Salary", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-11-25T17:01:48.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/community-college-workforce-training-courses-salary-increase/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/community-college-workforce-training-courses-salary-increase/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-11-25T17:01:48.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "How Short-Term Community College Courses Help Boost Your Salary", "articleSection": "Education", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/11/College-Boost-Wages-Course.jpg", "width": 2381, "height": 1588, "caption": "College-Boost-Wages-Course" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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