• Navigator includes a broad range of programs to meet students’ varied career interests. It includes sub-bachelor’s programs in HVAC and radiologic technology; four-year college programs in nursing or construction management; and combined BS/Graduate programs in physical therapy, social work, and speech pathology. Navigator also includes detailed information that cannot be found publicly on union apprenticeships in the building trades, biotech, and the firefighter training academy.

    Navigator focuses on programs offered by public colleges and universities, which are generally more affordable than comparable private college offerings. However, we include some specialized career programs offered by private colleges in fields such as nursing and construction management, which have limited seats available at public colleges. We also include programs offered by Franklin Cummings Tech, a private college with costs comparable to public colleges.

    To be included in Navigator, the program needs to meet the following criteria:

    • Focus on a well-defined set of target occupations that typically require completion of a specific vocational program or degree. Liberal arts and social science degrees such as English or Sociology are not included because these programs do not prepare graduates for specific occupations. Similarly, natural science degrees such as biology or chemistry are not included. However, degrees in Laboratory Medical Science, which prepare students for national certification exams to work in hospitals and other medical laboratories, are included.

    • Target occupations that pay at least 80% of the median salary for all workers in Boston Metropolitan Area (i.e., $50,448 in 2023). Programs that target occupation(s) with median 2023 salaries significantly below the threshold of $50,448, such as nursing assistant training programs, are not included in the Navigator directory at this time.

    • Be a good next step for high school graduates. Coding boot camps such as General Assembly and App Academy, which typically serve students who have either graduated college or have significant computer-related experience, are not included in Navigator. For similar reasons, graduate programs are not included in Navigator unless they are a combined Bachelor’s/Graduate option.

  • Navigator focuses on programs located in Eastern and Central Massachusetts. We include UMass Amherst, but no other programs located in Western Massachusetts at this time.

  • There are several filters you can use to search for programs of interest to your student. You can search for programs by:

    • Career Area

    • Degree Level (e.g., bachelor’s)

    • Program of Study (e.g., Construction Management)

    • Organization Type Sponsoring the Program (e.g., Public College, Union Apprenticeship)

    • Average Salary of Target Occupations

    • Keyword Search 

    Filters are located along the left-side column of the application.

  • Navigator uses several publicly available data sources including Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on Boston area salaries by occupation, the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) on program completions and demographics, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data on institutional costs and median loan debt. We use both College Scorecard data and U.S. Census Dept Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) data on the earnings of program completers. Other program data are gathered through interviews conducted with program staff and program websites.

    • Program Completions: 2023 IPEDS program completion data.

    • Salary Range of Target Occupations: BLS Occupational Salary data for Greater Boston Metropolitan Area, 2023.

    • Cost and Average Debt Load: College Scorecard data on net annual program costs by family income and average loan debt of graduates derived from 2021-2022 school year data.

    • Graduate Earnings: College Scorecard data on median earnings of program graduates five years following graduation normalized to 2021 dollars. If College Scorecard program earnings data is not available, U.S. Census Department PSEO data, if available, is used. PSEO data is normalized to 2021 dollars.

    • Navigator includes a wide variety of postsecondary programs to meet students’ diverse career interests and needs. These programs include apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, certificates, 2- and 4-year college, combined undergraduate/graduate programs, civil service job training (e.g., firefighter cadet program), and job training programs offered by community-based and national organizations (e.g., AACA, Year Up).

    • Each program in Navigator is assessed by the NGT team to ensure that it offers a good return on investment for students, meaning that we can verify that it leads to a well-paying job.

    • Navigator includes detailed, program-level admissions process and employment outcomes information that is not publicly or readily available to advisors and students. NGT researches and interviews each program included in the directory, to ensure that advisors and students have the information they need to make tactical postsecondary decisions.

    • Navigator features “Spotlights,” short blogs about a variety of career paths, and information on postsecondary programs leading to those paths of interest for advisors and students.

    • Postsecondary Advising Guides are 1-2 page guides that provide guardrails for advisors as they talk with students about well-paying jobs and the postsecondary options for students in a variety of career areas (e.g., construction, healthcare, IT).

Frequently Asked Questions