Industry, Firm, Job Title: The Layered Nature of Early Career Advantage for Graduates of Elite Private Universities

• In Event: 4419 - Higher Education: Consequences for Individuals and Communities

Abstract

Using concepts associated with Effectively Maintained Inequality theory and horizontal stratification, we ask whether the private-public dividing line is a “threshold of consequence” for early career market entry. To address this empirically, we use a novel LinkedIn dataset to analyze job pathways for the graduating class of 2016 from the top 25 private and top 25 public universities in the U.S. In line with past qualitative research, we find evidence that elite private graduates enter high-status industries in greater proportion than their public university counterparts. They also tend to get jobs in more prestigious and higher-paying firms and attain more prestigious job titles. Based on the evidence, we call for more closely analyzing the layers of advantage that may accumulate to elite graduates during key transitional moments, such as post-graduation job search. We also shed additional light on how the private-public divide is a threshold of consequence for university graduates.

Authors

• Daniel Davis, University of California, San Diego

• Amy J. Binder, University of California, San Diego