Gainful employment refers to an employment situation where the employee receives steady work, payment from the employer, and that allows for self-sufficiency. It is a positive psychology concept that explores the benefits of employment beyond financial gain. From a legal standpoint, gainful employment is defined as work that a person can pursue and perform for money or activities intended to provide an income to a person. Recently, gainful employment has also been approached from the political perspective and applied to education reform. The Gainful Employment Rule is an example of a policy regarding gainful employment that has educational applications. The rule is designed to ensure that students don’t take on large amounts of debt for training programs that lead to jobs with earnings too low for them to repay their loans. Certificate programs at private, nonprofit, and public institutions, and nearly all for-profit degree and certificate programs must prepare students for “gainful employment in a recognized occupation” in order for those students to be eligible for federal student aid. The rule requires programs to show that graduates can afford their yearly debt payments and that they are making more than an adult who didn’t go to college. The gainful employment regulations apply to programs at for-profit institutions as well as non-degree programs in any sector. The rule has two tests: a debt-to-earnings ratio and an earnings threshold. Programs that fail the gainful employment metrics tests after just one year will be required to notify current and prospective students, warning them that the program is at risk of losing federal financial aid eligibility.