TY - JOUR
T1 - Lost in Transition
T2 - College Resources and the Unequal Early-Career Trajectories of Arts Alumni
AU - Martin, Nathan
AU - Frenette, Alexandre
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) was funded in part by the Surdna Foundation, Houston Endowment, Barr Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Cleveland Foundation, and Educational Foundation of America. The SNAAP Career Skills and Entrepreneurship module was made possible in part by the support of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, © 2017 SAGE Publications.
PY - 2017/11/1
Y1 - 2017/11/1
N2 - This article considers how college resources (academic abilities, social engagement, and career skills) affect the likelihood of a successful post-graduation job search. Using survey data from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (N = 16,659 alumni who graduated between 1976 and 2015), we find that arts graduates are increasingly likely to be lost in transition. Over recent decades, the likelihood of experiencing a prolonged job search after graduation or initial employment in an unrelated field has increased. Yet, we find that higher levels of social engagement and career skills, but not academic abilities gained through traditional instruction, are predictive of labor market success. Female and non-White alumni report lower levels of college resources, longer initial job searches, and are more likely to find work in an unrelated field. Furthermore, gender moderates the relationship between career skills and job search length such that career skill development is associated with stronger gains for men than for women.
AB - This article considers how college resources (academic abilities, social engagement, and career skills) affect the likelihood of a successful post-graduation job search. Using survey data from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (N = 16,659 alumni who graduated between 1976 and 2015), we find that arts graduates are increasingly likely to be lost in transition. Over recent decades, the likelihood of experiencing a prolonged job search after graduation or initial employment in an unrelated field has increased. Yet, we find that higher levels of social engagement and career skills, but not academic abilities gained through traditional instruction, are predictive of labor market success. Female and non-White alumni report lower levels of college resources, longer initial job searches, and are more likely to find work in an unrelated field. Furthermore, gender moderates the relationship between career skills and job search length such that career skill development is associated with stronger gains for men than for women.
KW - artistic careers
KW - job search
KW - postsecondary education
KW - precarious work
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U2 - 10.1177/0002764217734273
DO - 10.1177/0002764217734273
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85037607756
SN - 0002-7642
VL - 61
SP - 1487
EP - 1509
JO - American Behavioral Scientist
JF - American Behavioral Scientist
IS - 12
ER -