Trade School Job Placement Rates: Employment After Graduation (2026 stats)
TL;DR
93.9% of recent certificate graduates were working (and not enrolled in more school) a year after finishing, in EDsmart Data's analysis of 6,390 College Scorecard certificate programs. The strongest fields, led by Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, place 100.0% of graduates in work. No federal dataset tracks job placement in the field of study, so this is the closest public measure.
Key Facts
- Certificate graduates working after 1 year: 93.9%
- Associate graduates working after 1 year: 95.8%
- Top certificate field: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (100.0%)
- Median trade school, 8 years after entry: 86.0%
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Trade school employment rates by field, one year after completion
Protective services certificates lead
In our analysis, Protective services certificates have the highest employment rate (98.1%), and Personal and culinary services the lowest (89.8%).
Share of the Scorecard earnings cohort working and not enrolled, among graduates not enrolled in further school. Weighted by cohort size.
Top 25 certificate programs by employment rate after one year
Certificate fields with at least 10 reporting programs nationwide.
| Field of study | Employment rate | Year-1 earnings | Median debt | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 100.0% | $72,018 | $27,007 | 38 |
| Fire Protection | 100.0% | $51,403 | $7,592 | 29 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 99.2% | $48,816 | $20,508 | 10 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | 98.4% | $72,546 | $26,865 | 52 |
| Business/Commerce, General | 98.2% | $50,107 | $19,100 | 20 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 98.0% | $53,163 | $12,000 | 160 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians | 97.6% | $59,659 | $10,140 | 13 |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | 97.4% | $52,782 | $18,262 | 623 |
| Human Resources Management and Services | 97.3% | $50,074 | $18,364 | 22 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 97.3% | $49,850 | $15,064 | 264 |
| Legal Support Services | 97.0% | $48,852 | $20,667 | 55 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | 96.8% | $65,324 | $26,000 | 22 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General | 96.8% | $58,398 | $19,518 | 10 |
| Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/Technicians | 96.6% | $52,302 | $9,500 | 43 |
| Geography and Cartography | 96.4% | $46,274 | $20,000 | 12 |
| Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians | 96.0% | $47,333 | $12,153 | 10 |
| Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians | 95.9% | $47,846 | $12,975 | 24 |
| Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians | 95.5% | $49,471 | $9,500 | 23 |
| Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services | 95.3% | $39,444 | $9,500 | 16 |
| Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians | 95.1% | $41,147 | $11,890 | 61 |
| Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | 94.6% | $41,342 | $13,769 | 269 |
| Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services | 94.6% | $30,810 | $9,500 | 586 |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions | 94.5% | $28,194 | $9,500 | 302 |
| Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians | 94.4% | $30,529 | $9,469 | 58 |
| Electrical and Power Transmission Installers | 94.1% | $44,727 | $9,500 | 193 |
Certificate fields with the lowest employment rates
| Field of study | Employment rate | Year-1 earnings | Median debt | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culinary Arts and Related Services | 88.2% | $31,885 | $15,231 | 50 |
| Teaching Assistants/Aides | 89.0% | $27,426 | $11,638 | 13 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 89.3% | $30,737 | $15,510 | 31 |
| Design and Applied Arts | 89.4% | $34,163 | $14,375 | 19 |
| Business Operations Support and Assistant Services | 89.6% | $31,717 | $9,500 | 83 |
| Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services | 89.8% | $23,892 | $9,500 | 1,126 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 89.9% | $35,217 | $14,625 | 51 |
| Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | 90.2% | $39,477 | $9,500 | 28 |
| Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies | 90.5% | $26,830 | $9,500 | 13 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 90.5% | $35,384 | $11,172 | 71 |
Top 25 trade schools by employment rate 8 years after entry
Institution-level rate for all federal-aid students who enrolled, 8 years later. The median trade school is at 86.0%.
| School | City | State | Employment rate | Earnings 10 yrs after entry | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science | Rochester | MN | 99.1% | $81,255 | 309 |
| 2. Standard Healthcare Services-College of Nursing | Falls Church | VA | 97.5% | $77,923 | 730 |
| 3. State Career College | Gurnee | IL | 97.3% | $29,699 | 185 |
| 4. Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Janesville | Janesville | WI | 97.2% | $36,823 | 102 |
| 5. Applied Tech | Sunset Hills | MO | 96.6% | $62,725 | 172 |
| 6. Tri-Rivers Career Center | Marion | OH | 96.5% | $54,883 | 151 |
| 7. St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing | Bethlehem | PA | 96.5% | $86,071 | 329 |
| 8. Eastern Center for Arts and Technology | Willow Grove | PA | 96.5% | $65,589 | 180 |
| 9. Xavier College School of Nursing | Stockton | CA | 96.3% | $85,276 | 106 |
| 10. Holy Name Medical Center-Sister Claire Tynan School of Nursing | Englewood Cliffs | NJ | 96.2% | $81,092 | 178 |
| 11. Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing | Pottsville | PA | 96.1% | $91,835 | 100 |
| 12. Citizens School of Nursing | Tarentum | PA | 95.9% | $74,414 | 152 |
| 13. Center for Allied Health Education | Brooklyn | NY | 95.9% | $100,102 | 437 |
| 14. Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing | Brockton | MA | 95.9% | $75,046 | 146 |
| 15. UPMC Jameson School of Nursing | New Castle | PA | 95.9% | $73,352 | 326 |
| 16. Capital Area Career Center | Springfield | IL | 95.8% | $58,631 | 161 |
| 17. JFK Muhlenberg Harold B. and Dorothy A. Snyder Schools | Plainfield | NJ | 95.4% | $84,633 | 188 |
| 18. UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing | Pittsburgh | PA | 95.3% | $79,452 | 715 |
| 19. Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting | Nashville | TN | 95.2% | $77,304 | 805 |
| 20. Athena Career Academy | Toledo | OH | 95.1% | $59,809 | 516 |
| 21. Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences | Reading | PA | 95.0% | $85,368 | 294 |
| 22. American Medical Academy | Miami | FL | 94.9% | $74,999 | 412 |
| 23. Hondros College of Nursing | Columbus | OH | 94.5% | $61,622 | 3,857 |
| 24. Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center | Choctaw | OK | 94.4% | $50,432 | 115 |
| 25. California Career Institute | Anaheim | CA | 94.4% | $64,286 | 628 |
What the data shows
Most certificate graduates find work quickly: 93.9% were employed and out of school a year after finishing in our analysis. Differences between fields are larger than differences between schools, so the program you choose matters most.
This is an employment rate, not a placement-in-field rate. A welding graduate working in retail counts as employed. Pair it with program earnings: fields where graduates earn well above minimum wage are more likely to be placing them in the trade.
Methodology
Program figures come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: one record per institution × 4-digit CIP code × credential level. Earnings are median annual earnings of federal-aid recipients who completed the program and were working and not enrolled, measured 1, 4, and 5 years after completion (in the dollar year of the Scorecard release). Debt is the median federal loan balance (Stafford and Grad PLUS) at completion; private loans and Parent PLUS are excluded. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and drop out of each column.
Employment rate = graduates working and not enrolled ÷ (working and not enrolled + not working and not enrolled), from the Scorecard year-1 earnings cohort. Programs with fewer than 10 graduates in that cohort are excluded, and field figures are weighted by cohort size. The school table uses Scorecard's institution-level rate 8 years after entry for all federal-aid students, including those who did not finish.
Graduate-only health fields (dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, and similar) are excluded, as are health certificates at bachelor's- or graduate-predominant universities, which are usually post-degree credentials (such as nurse anesthesia) rather than entry-level training.
Frequently asked questions
What is the job placement rate for trade schools?
There is no federal placement rate. The closest public measure is College Scorecard's share of graduates working a year after completion: 93.9% for certificate programs and 95.8% for associate programs, in our analysis.
Which trade school programs have the best employment rates?
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (100.0%) and Fire Protection (100.0%) lead certificate fields with at least 10 programs reporting.
Why not use the placement rates schools advertise?
Schools calculate advertised placement rates in different ways, often counting any job. The federal measure uses tax records for every aid recipient, so it can be compared across schools, though it does not check whether the job is in the field studied.
What does 'working and not enrolled' mean?
Graduates count as working if they had earnings above a minimum threshold (roughly full-time minimum wage for a quarter of the year) and were not enrolled in more school. The rate divides them by everyone not enrolled.
Data sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard institution and field-of-study files (latest release in our extract)