Industry Choice and within Industry Earnings Effects of Career and Technical Education

We examine the effect of attending stand-alone technical high schools on industry of employment and within industry earnings premiums among students that applied to the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS). Regression discontinuity estimates suggest that admission shifts male students towards working in higher paying industries, broadly defined, that align with CTECS programs of study but has a much more modest impact on female students. Surprisingly, industry earnings premiums are similar and sometimes larger for female students in traditionally male dominated industries like manufacturing and construction. Both male and female students are also more likely to work in specific industries that have a close occupational match to CTECS programs, and this match helps explain a substantial portion of the CTECS earnings premium for males in manufacturing and construction. Finally, male students admitted to a CTECS school who do not initially place in higher paying industries are more likely to transition into higher paying industries over time, and as a result, eventually experience these earnings premiums.