RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Stacking the Deck for Employment Success
JF Journal of Human Resources
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 129
OP 152
DO 10.3368/jhr.1120-11320R2
VO 60
IS 1
A1 Meyer, Katharine E.
A1 Bird, Kelli A.
A1 Castleman, Benjamin L.
YR 2025
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/60/1/129.abstract
AB With rapid technological transformations to the labor market, many working adults return to college after graduation to obtain additional training or credentials. Using a comparative individual fixed-effects strategy and an administrative panel data set of enrollment and employment in Virginia, we estimate the labor market returns to credential “stacking”—earning two or more community college certificates or degrees—among working adults. We find stacking increases employment by four percentage points and quarterly wages by $375 (4 percent). Returns are larger for individuals studying in Health and who return to college after first completing a short-term certificate.