In an earlier paper based on Israeli census data, the authors showed that v
ocational school completers achieved higher earnings than their counter-par
ts who attended academic secondary schools, but only if they worked in occu
pations related to the vocational course of study pursued. These findings w
ere challenged by Lawrence Hotchkiss; using U.S. follow-up data from the Hi
gh School and Beyond survey, he argued that the wage advantage of vocationa
l school completers working in related occupations stemmed from employment
in a well-paid occupation (a possibility not examined in our earlier estima
ting model) and was not the result of the training received. In this paper
we replicate the U.S. study using our Israeli data base; the results strong
ly confirm those from our earlier study. How may the contrasting results fo
r Israel and the United States be explained? We suggest that the U.S. study
may be faulted; its focus on young workers in their first job after gradua
tion, may have led to unduly pessimistic results with regard to the labor m
arket outcomes of vocational schooling.