Gov. Nathan Deal announced that the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement has released the Georgia Higher Learning and Earnings dashboard and research report. The GHLE dashboard and report provide earnings information for graduates of Georgia's universities and technical colleges who work in the state after earning their degrees.

“By 2020, more than 60 percent of job openings in Georgia will require some form of postsecondary education,” said Deal. “To meet this demand, we are providing additional tools to help students seeking higher education make important decisions for their future. I am encouraged by the graduates of Georgia's technical colleges and universities who have chosen to work in the top state for business and are using their skills in Georgia's workforce.”

The GHLE dashboard (http://learnearn.gosa.ga.gov) is an interactive site that allows users to explore earnings patterns of graduates for the first and fifth years after graduation. On the site, users can sort information by program of study/major, degree type and Georgia public technical college or college/university attended. The dashboard also provides earnings information for the most popular and highest-earning degrees.

GOSA also published a research report that presents median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile wages by degree category (certificate, bachelor’s degree, etc.), technical college or college/university and program of study for the first and fifth year after graduation. Some of the research highlights include: 

• As students increase their level of education, their wages tend to increase. These differences become more pronounced as more time passes after graduation.

• Earnings vary dramatically by program of study and college.

• Within program of study and college, wages tend to increase after five years but at varying rates.

• Among the most popular programs of study, fields relating to medicine are consistently amongst the top earners relative to other popular degree categories.

• Business-related bachelor’s and master’s degrees have higher earnings relative to other popular programs of study.

In addition to degree type and program of study, it is important to note that many factors, such as student ability and motivation, college selectivity and job market conditions, affect earnings, so the results in the report and dashboard should not be interpreted as a guarantee of employment or earnings.

Data for the report and dashboard are provided by Georgia’s Academic and Workforce Analysis and Research Data System. GA•AWARDS is the state’s Pre-K through workforce longitudinal data system. Student degree and certificate data are provided to GA•AWARDS by the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia, the Georgia Independent College Association and the National Student Clearinghouse. The Georgia Department of Labor provides wage data to GA•AWARDS and the Georgia Student Finance Commission provides financial aid data.