Teen Work Promotes Early Adult Careers

Newswise — While research on the school-to-work transition typically examines employment stability, income, and other indicators of attainment, a new sociological study focuses on youths' own assessments of whether their jobs constitute "careers."

Research reported today at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association finds that although many youth have difficulty in finding a job with career potential, extensive work investment during high school hastens movement toward a "career job" in early adulthood. That is, youth who work long hours for many months during high school perceive their jobs as "careers" at an earlier age than those who work fewer hours but for a similar number of months.

"The pace by which young people come to recognize their jobs as careers appears to be far from random," said Jeylan Mortimer, the lead researcher of the study. "Adolescents' orientations and experiences during high school significantly influence the process of 'career' acquisition thereafter."

Job characteristics after leaving high school, such as having higher wages, longer work hours, and early job training likewise hasten young adults' progress into career-like jobs. The research, conducted by Mortimer, Mike Vuolo, Jeremy Staff, and other associates at the University of Minnesota, is supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It is based on the Youth Development Study, an ongoing longitudinal study of 1,010 Minnesota youth that has surveyed the youth annually from their first year of high school in 1988 at age 14 to the age of 30.

The research also found that sources of advantage, such as being male, native-born, and from a two-parent family, are associated with faster acquisition of careers, as are high self-esteem and parenthood.

"In the context of the rather precarious school-to-work transition in the U.S., youth move toward careers through early intensive work experience during high school, which positions them for employment that is relatively quickly acknowledged as having career potential," explained Mortimer. "On-the-job training after high school and receipt of an Associate's Degree also have positive payoff with respect to acquiring a 'career' job."

The research concluded that a second, longer route toward a career involves less intensive employment during high school, followed by post-secondary educational investment, more often in four-year colleges. This pathway, which eventually also leads to "careers," is favored by more advantaged youth.

The searchable ASA Annual Meeting program and the PDF version of the preliminary program are posted on the meeting website at http://www.asanet.org

The American Sociological Association, founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the contributions and use of sociology to society.

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