Barriers in the transition from school to work: how student financial adversity predicts deprioritizing jobs with the best long-term career progression

Buzan, Julia and Sheehy-Skeffington, Jennifer ORCID: 0000-0003-0372-4867 (2024) Barriers in the transition from school to work: how student financial adversity predicts deprioritizing jobs with the best long-term career progression. Journal of Social Issues, 80 (4). 1460 - 1483. ISSN 0022-4537

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Abstract

Despite education's potential to reshape societal inequalities, recent gains in broadening university access across the socioeconomic spectrum have not translated into parallel gains in the transition from school to work. This work applies a socioecological approach to understanding this pattern, considering the role of job factors and individual financial background in shaping undergraduate student job choices and perceived career prospects. In two discrete choice experiments (n = 800) UK undergraduate students chose between pairs of job descriptions varying primarily along two dimensions: immediate versus delayed benefits (e.g., starting salary vs. salary progression), and concrete versus abstract benefits (e.g., salary vs. values fit). The findings suggest that career choice may be shaped by socioeconomic constraints above and beyond individual preferences for meaningful work, while the relationship between financial strain and career pessimism is mediated by inequalities in perceived control over life outcomes and personal connections to the job.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	LSE Psychological and Behavioural Science
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences L Education H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Date Deposited:	06 Dec 2024 15:30
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2025 10:21
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/126272

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