In this paper, we estimate a structural model of choice of field of study by community college
students. We use data from the Canadian Survey of Graduates for 12,871 individuals who
successfully completed their programs in Canadian community colleges (CEGEPs in
Quebec) in 1990 and 1995. Over this period, the returns to fields such as health declined
relative to other fields such as science and engineering, a fact that provides useful leverage
for identifying the impact of earnings on the choice of field of study. Results indicate that the
probability of selecting a specific college field of study depends significantly on expected
earnings in this field relative to other fields. We also find that women put less weight on
earnings than men when choosing a field of study and those students who were employed
prior to starting college are more sensitive to earnings variations across fields of study than
students with no prior work experience.