•We study labor-market returns to attending vocational master's programs.•We use fixed effects models on the matched sample of entrants and non-entrants.•Attendance in these programs leads to higher earnings of over 7% in 5 years.•Earnings gains are similar by gender and age.•Attendees receive higher earnings regardless of whether they switch employers. This paper examines the labor-market returns to a new form of postsecondary vocational education: vocational master's degrees. We use individual fixed effects models on a matched sample of students and non-students from Finland to capture any time-invariant differences across individuals. We find that attendance in vocational master's programs leads to an earnings increase of more than seven percent five years after entry. The estimated effect remains positive even if selection on unobservables is twice as strong as selection on observables. Earnings gains are similar by gender and age, but they are marginally higher for those in the health sector than for those in the business or technology and trades sector.