Glossary

Every term and acronym we use, in plain language. If a word on a path page is unclear, it's probably here.

Wages & data

Bureau of Labor StatisticsBLS: The U.S. government agency that collects and publishes official wage, employment, and job-growth data. Every wage figure on NotCollege traces back to the BLS so you can check it yourself at bls.gov.
Occupational Outlook HandbookOOH: A free BLS publication that profiles hundreds of careers — what the job is, how to enter it, the median pay, and the projected job growth. One of our two primary BLS sources.
Occupational Employment & Wage StatisticsOEWS: A BLS program that publishes detailed wage data for occupations — including the percentile spread (how much the lowest and highest earners make) and figures by state and metro area.
Median wage: The middle of the pack: half of workers in the job earn more than this, half earn less. It is NOT the average — averages get pulled up by a few very high earners, so the median is a more honest "typical" number.
Percentile (10th / 90th): A way to describe the spread of pay. The 10th percentile is what lower earners make (only 10% earn less); the 90th percentile is what top earners make (only 10% earn more). The gap between them shows how wide the pay range is.
SOC code: The Standard Occupational Classification code — the federal ID number for an occupation (like 29-2061 for an LPN). It is how we match a career to its exact BLS wage and growth data.

Pell Grant: Federal money for college from the government, awarded based on financial need. Unlike a loan, a Pell Grant does NOT have to be paid back. Historically it only covered traditional college programs.
Workforce PellWPE: A 2026 expansion of the Pell Grant (federal rule effective July 1, 2026) that lets Pell money cover short-term job-training programs — roughly 8 to 15 weeks — not just traditional college. It can make a fast, cheap path to a career essentially free for eligible students.
Structural WPE eligibility: Whether a path's training fits the Workforce Pell rules at all (the right length and format). This is separate from whether your state has actually approved programs yet — a path can be structurally eligible but still have no approved programs near you. Our WPE tracker follows the state-by-state status.

Apprenticeship: Paid, on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction. You earn a wage while you learn, and finish with a recognized credential — common in trades like electrician, plumber, and HVAC. Many are registered with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Licensure vs. certification: A license is permission from your state that you are legally required to have to work in a job (and rules vary by state). A certification is a credential you earn to prove a skill — sometimes required, often just helpful for getting hired and paid more.
Confidence rating: How directly we have verified a figure. "Verified · BLS" means we checked it straight against bls.gov. "Best estimate" means it is our best-knowledge number that is not yet directly BLS-confirmed — shown honestly so you know which is which.