What this does
List Of Non‑Degree Pathways is a directory of ways into a career that do not need a four-year degree, for the state you choose. In every state it lists jobs you can start right away and jobs where the employer trains you. In Texas it also lists associate degree programs at Texas schools, Texas state licenses, professional certifications and registered trade apprenticeships. Each card opens a page that lists every non-degree route into that card's career with its cost, pay and how fast the cost is earned back.
It helps a student who wants to start working sooner, or spend less, see the options. It helps a parent weigh a short route against a four-year degree. It helps a counselor find licenses, certifications and two-year programs for a career.
Before you start
- Pick a state. The directory needs one. With no state chosen you see only Pick a state to see non-degree pathways. and the Showing data for menu. See Choosing a state.
- Know how much your state has. Texas has the fullest list. In every other state the list holds only immediate-entry and on-the-job-training routes (the Tier 0 option); the other tier options find nothing there.
- Search by career, route or provider. You can type a career ("electrician"), a route ("welding"), or a school or licensing body.
- Know what is covered. The page and the home page tile say Certificates, associate degrees, licenses and jobs you can start without a degree. Bootcamps and military routes are not in the data. Apprenticeships appear only in Texas, inside its license table.
Step by step
- Click Non-Degree in the top menu, or the Non-Degree Pathways tile on the home page. The page opens with the heading List Of Non‑Degree Pathways, shows Loading — this may take a moment on first load…, then lists cards under Select A Pathway.
- Read the count line above the cards. With nothing typed it usually reads Showing first 300 pathways — search to narrow the list.
- Type in Search pathway (it shows Type a pathway or career title). The list updates as you type, and the count line changes to [n] pathways found matching "[your words]".
- To see one kind of route, choose an option in Entry tier, such as Tier 5 · License / Credential. The list narrows; your search words still apply.
- Read a card: its bold title is the route, the line below is [route type] · [provider or career].
- Click a card (Open all non-degree pathways for this career →). The career's page opens, headed Best Non-Degree Pathways For [career], with every route into that career in a table. See A career's non-degree routes.
Every control explained
| Control | Where | What it changes | Default | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showing data for | Above the heading | Switches the directory to another state and reloads it. | The state you chose last | Texas lists more kinds of route than other states. |
| Search pathway | Filter card | Keeps routes whose title, career or provider name contains every word you type. All the words must be in the same one of those three. Initials that match the first letters of a name also work. | Empty, unless a link opened the page with words already filled in | Fewer words find more: "nursing assistant" needs both words in one name; "nursing" alone finds more. |
| Entry tier: All, Tier 0 · Zero Barrier, Tier 1 · Certificate / Credential, Tier 2 · Associate Degree, Tier 5 · License / Credential | Filter card | Keeps one kind of route. See "What each Entry tier option contains" below. | All | The menu lists only the tiers your state has routes in; the others are removed. There is no tier 3 or 4. |
| Pathway card (Open all non-degree pathways for this career →) | Select A Pathway | Opens the ranked list of every non-degree route into the card's career. | — | The next page lists all routes into the career, not only the card you clicked. |
| Non-Degree menu link | Top menu | Comes back to this directory from any page, keeping your state. | — | Your search and tier are not kept; set them again. |
| Report a problem | Page footer | Opens an email to Samantar with the page name filled in. | — | Name the state and the card you were looking at. |
Reading the results
The count line
- [n] pathway(s) found. or [n] pathways found matching "[words]".: how many cards are listed.
- Showing first 300 pathways — search to narrow the list.: more than 300 routes match and only the first 300 are shown. Type a word or pick an Entry tier to reach the rest.
- No non-degree pathways found matching your search.: nothing matched. Try fewer words, or set Entry tier back to All.
- A line starting with ⚠ means the list could not be loaded; reload the page.
The cards
Cards are in alphabetical order by route title, as the page's introduction says ("listed alphabetically"). The career's page that a card opens puts its routes side by side. Each card has:
- Title: the route. Immediate-entry and employer-trained routes read [career] — Immediate Entry or [career] — On-the-Job Training. Associate programs read [program] associate degree at [school]. License-table routes use the license, certification or apprenticeship name.
- Second line: the route type (see the table below), a dot, then the provider: Immediate entry, Employer-trained, the school, or the licensing or certifying body. The career name stands in when there is no provider.
The same route can appear on more than one card with the same title when it leads to more than one career; each card opens a different career's page. The directory shows no pay, cost or time; those are on the career's page.
What each Entry tier option contains
The option labels do not always match the route types printed on the cards. This is what each option keeps. The menu shows only the options your state has routes in.
| Option | Route types on the cards | Where they come from | States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 0 · Zero Barrier | Zero Barrier (start right away) and Brief On-the-Job Training (the employer trains you) | Sixteen everyday jobs such as cashier, cook, janitor and landscaping worker, plus every career whose usual entry route in the O*NET education, training and experience data is "no formal credential" or "on-the-job training", as long as the career has pay data. In Texas, two paid helper or pre-apprentice routes from the Texas license table are added. | Every state |
| Tier 1 · Certificate / Credential | Certificate / Credential in Texas; Certificate / Diploma elsewhere | In Texas: professional certifications from the Texas license table, each with its certifying body (for example medical assisting or welding certifications). In other states: undergraduate certificate programs at the state's schools, from the College Scorecard field-of-study data, linked only to the careers the federal education-to-occupation crosswalk (NCES) names for that program, for careers whose usual entry route needs no degree; at most ten schools per program and career, those with the most graduates first. A certificate counts as about a year of study. Graduate and post-baccalaureate certificates are left out: they need a bachelor's degree. | Every state with data |
| Tier 2 · Associate Degree | Associate Degree | Associate degree programs at the state's schools (Texas: federal IPEDS completions data; other states: the College Scorecard field-of-study data), linked only to the careers the federal education-to-occupation crosswalk (NCES) names for that program. A program is listed only for careers whose usual entry route is an associate's degree, and for at most ten schools per program and career, those with the most graduates first. | Every state with data |
| Tier 5 · License / Credential | License / Credential | Texas state licenses (for example commercial driver's licenses and electrician and plumber licenses) and registered trade apprenticeships (for example carpenter, roofer and electrical lineman), each with its licensing or sponsoring body. On the next page only the apprenticeships count as paid training; licenses such as a commercial driver's license do not. | Texas only |
No route comes from bootcamps or the military. Licenses, professional certifications and registered apprenticeships come from a Texas table, so outside Texas the certificate and associate routes are school programs, and there is no Tier 5.
Pay, cost and time for each route are explained on A career's non-degree routes. How the figures are produced covers the methods.
Worked example
A counselor in Texas looking for routes into healthcare for a student who does not want a four-year degree.
- With Texas chosen, they open Non-Degree. The count line says the first 300 pathways are shown.
- They type medical in Search pathway. The count line changes to the number of routes matching "medical". The cards include a medical assisting certification (Certificate / Credential · [certifying body]), associate programs titled [program] associate degree at [college] (Associate Degree · [college]) and immediate-entry or on-the-job routes for related careers.
- They set Entry tier to Tier 2 · Associate Degree to see only the two-year programs, then click one. The next page, Best Non-Degree Pathways For [career], lists every route into that career with break-even time, entry and median pay and direct cost.
- Later they help a student who is moving to Ohio. With Ohio chosen, the same search lists only immediate-entry and on-the-job routes, and Tier 2 or Tier 5 shows No non-degree pathways found matching your search. For degree programs at Ohio schools they turn to Degrees instead.
Common questions
- Why doesn't my state's Entry tier menu show every tier?
- The menu lists only the tiers your state has routes in. Every state with school data has immediate-entry routes, certificate programs and associate programs. Licenses, professional certifications and apprenticeships come from a Texas table, so Tier 5 appears for Texas only.
- Why do I see the same route on several cards?
- One program or license can lead to more than one career, so it is listed once for each. The cards look the same but open different careers' pages.
- Where are apprenticeships, bootcamps and military routes?
- Bootcamps and military routes are not in the data. Some registered trade apprenticeships are listed in Texas under Tier 5. On Jobs Trends, Paths into [career] shows whether a career has an apprenticeship or military route in general, without a cost or provider.
- Why are certificate programs at schools missing?
- The directory does not list individual schools' certificate programs in v1.9.3. Certifications from the Texas license table are listed under Tier 1.
- Why is a college I know missing from the associate programs?
- A program is listed only if federal data records graduates from it, the federal crosswalk links it directly to the career, the career is usually entered with an associate's degree, and the school is among the ten with the most graduates for that program and career. A general program (for example "Health Sciences, General") has no direct career link, so it is not listed.
- Why does the list stop at 300?
- To keep the page fast. The count line says so; search or pick a tier to see the rest.
- Why is a career I searched for not here?
- Careers usually entered with a bachelor's degree or more have no non-degree routes unless, in Texas, a license or associate program leads to them. Look for the career on Careers instead.
What this does NOT do
- It is not an enrollment or application site, and it does not recommend a route.
- It is not advice. Figures on the next page are estimates, not guarantees.
- It does not list bootcamps or military routes. It lists licenses, certifications, apprenticeships and associate programs in Texas only, and no school certificate programs.
- It does not show pay, cost or time on the cards; open a card for those.
- It stores nothing about you. No account is needed, and this page has no save button.
Related
- Open Non-Degree Pathways
- A career's non-degree routes: the page each card opens.
- Compare non-degree pathways: up to five routes side by side, with time to entry and paid training.
- A career's detail page and Degrees for a career: degree routes into the same career.
- Degrees: degree programs at schools in every state.
- Jobs Trends: pay history, outlook and every route into a career.
- Choosing a state