OLMIS

by Brenda Turner
Published May-5-2010

Background Occupations Requiring an Associate Degree Occupations for Which an Associate Degree is the Competitive Requirement Is an Associate Degree Valuable?

Recent employment projections suggest the state will add over 163,000 jobs from 2008 to 2018. These new jobs can be analyzed in a number of ways - by region, industry, occupation, wage level, minimum or competitive education required, and skills required.

An associate degree is valuable for these new jobs, as well as for replacement openings. How many of Oregon's new jobs will require an associate degree? Might an associate degree make a job applicant more competitive for a particular position? For which occupations is an associate degree the most relevant level of education?

When looking at education and training requirements for jobs in Oregon, it is important to look at requirements for all job openings - both growth and replacement. Growth openings result from expansion of employment, when industries increase demand for workers. Replacement openings occur when people leave the labor force permanently through death, disability, or retirement. Total job openings are equal to the number of growth openings plus the number of replacement openings.

Each of the 700+ occupations identified in Oregon have assigned levels of education or training necessary to meet their minimum requirements. This level represents the minimum that employers generally require before they will hire someone into that occupation.

Graph 1 shows that 23 percent of the jobs in 2008 required at least an associate degree and that number remains level when analyzing total job openings.

Jobs that require an associate degree made up nearly 4 percent of Oregon's total employment in 2008, and the share will be similar in 2018 (Table 1). Of Oregon's 163,441 new jobs added between 2008 and 2018, 7 percent (11,213) will require an associate degree; 25 percent will require an associate degree or higher.

Just over 4 percent of all job openings will require an associate degree, with the majority of these jobs being due to growth, rather than replacement, openings.

Four of the top 10 occupations with the most total job openings that require at least an associate degree are in the education field (Table 2). These are postsecondary teachers, except graduate teaching assistants; elementary school teachers, except special education; secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education; and education, training and library workers, all other. Other top-growing occupations are related to health care and include registered nurses and physicians and surgeons.

If an individual achieves a competitive education level, it may make them more competitive when applying for a job. This is important in situations where, for example, on-the-job training is all that is minimally required. Such occupations include mechanics, but a large supply of the job seekers for these positions hold associate degrees. Employers may prefer degree holders to those with on-the-job training, even though the necessary basic skills and abilities can be learned on the job.

An associate degree adds competitiveness for many jobs that require on-the-job training, post-secondary training, or related work experience. About 11 percent of Oregon's current and future employment falls into this category (Table 3). Also, just over 11 percent (28,318 jobs) of the job openings due to growth over the next 10 years will be in this type of occupation, where an associate degree is a competitive requirement.

Four of the top 10 occupations that have an associate degree as a competitive requirement have on-the-job training as the minimum education and training requirement. Two are maintenance-related, three are clerical, and three are supervisory (Table 4). While necessary skills can be learned on the job, an associate degree adds formal training that can make workers more competitive.

An associate degree is required for many existing jobs in the state, and also for many new jobs that will open during the next 10 years. Also, an associate degree provides a competitive edge for job seekers when the minimum requirement for a job in their occupation is on-the-job training. There are 17 community colleges in the state that offer associate degrees. Many courses are transferable to other colleges for those students who wish to continue their education. Whether an associate degree is a final destination or a stepping stone on the way to higher education, there is no doubt that this type of training is important to many workers and occupations in the state.