Black learners and workers face particular disadvantages in the labor market: casual and explicit racism, stereotypes about skills and professionalism, and limited access to the social networks and social capital required to connect to opportunity. Numerous research studies confirm that Black employees in the same fields and with the same degrees as their White counterparts earn substantially less. This article examines the growing field of short-term noncredit credentials and asks for whom and under what circumstances they are a good choice. Do such credentials teach enough about how work "works" to put completers on a path to economic mobility despite the barriers they may face? The authors also ask what higher education institutions can contribute to student access to good jobs and economic mobility. They focus on how Black learners might best navigate the many available options rather than assume that short-term credentials are the best choice for these learners while their White peers choose bachelor's degrees.