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 the Boston Metropolitan Area (i.e., $51,700 in 2024). Programs that target occupation(s) with median 2024 salaries significantly below the threshold of $51,700, 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/Credential Offered (certificate, bachelor's, apprenticeship journeyperson, etc.)

• 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 

• And more!

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, 2024.

• Graduate Earnings: College Scorecard data on median earnings of program graduates four 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).

When you enter the tool, you’ll be met with a walkthrough with all data sources listed, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Massachusetts Department of Economic Research.

Salary data is updated annually in alignment with Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting.

State-level projected job growth data is updated when new data is released by the state (typically once every two years).

In this tool, a "well-paying job" pays at least 80% of the median salary for all workers in a selected region. For the Boston metro area, that salary number is $51,700 per year. For the Central MA region, that number is $44,240 per year. We selected 80% of the median salary because it approximates the minimum salary required for an individual to cover their living expenses in the selected region according to the Self-Sufficiency Standard at the Center for Women’s Welfare, University of Washington.

It includes any postsecondary credential/training below a bachelor’s degree, for example, an associate degree, vocational certificate, civil service exam, or apprenticeship. It also includes a small number of jobs that require a high school diploma combined with on-the-job training by the employer.

A career area refers to a broad field of work. Occupations within career areas may share similar job tasks, interests, and skill sets.

The X-axis shows how many people work in the specific career areas in the region. The Y-axis shows the average salary by career area in the region.

The growth level indicates the expected employment growth in the occupation in Massachusetts for the ten-year period of 2022-2032. The tool shows three growth levels:

Low
Occupations with projected growth rates in the bottom quartile for all occupations paying at least 80% of the median salary in a region.

Average
Occupations with projected growth rates in the middle two quartiles.

High
Occupations with growth rates in the top quartile.

Early-career salary represents the lower end of the salary range for the occupation (i.e., the 25th-percentile salary for the occupation). Typically, workers will earn a salary at the 25th-percentile or higher after a few years of experience in the field.

Median salary is the middle point of all salaries within an occupation within a selected region. Half of the workers in the occupation make less than the median salary, and half make more. Typically, workers will earn the median salary or higher in an occupation after accumulating several years of experience.

“Education requirement” is the level of education or training typically needed to enter an occupation.

The salary level of an occupation is ranked as $$, $$$, or $$$$ based on where the occupation’s median salary ranks relative to the median salary for all occupations in a region:

$$ - Occupation pays less than the median salary for all occupations in the region.

$$$ - Occupation pays between the 50th (i.e., median) and 75th-percentile salary for all occupations in the region.

$$$$ - Occupation pays at or above the 75th-percentile salary for all occupations in the region.

BA stands for any Bachelor’s degree.

“Sub-BA Jobs” represents the number of people working in the occupation with less than a Bachelor’s degree.

“BA Jobs” represents the number of people working in the occupation with a Bachelor’s degree.

“Graduate Jobs” represents the number of people working in the occupation with a graduate degree.

The typical education required to enter some occupations may fall into more than one credential level. For example, some Registered Nurses get jobs with an associate degree, and others with a bachelor’s.

NextGen Talent’s goal is to boost the enrollment of low-income students, including students of color and first-generation college students, who are disproportionately low income, in postsecondary programs and majors that lead to well-paying jobs. These students do not have the same financial safety nets as their higher-income peers, therefore, it is critical that they can identify postsecondary programs and career paths with strong labor market returns.

Websites including O*NET OnLine, MyNextMove, and Occupational Outlook Handbook are helpful to explore a variety of occupations with different pay levels.