Academic Careers and Post-College Employment of Young Men. Final Report.

This study of career goals, academic objectives and the relation of these to success in the job market involved a series of annual interviews with samples of people representing four different population groups: young men who were 14 to 24 years old in 1966; men who were 45 to 59 years old in 1966; young women who were 14 to 24 years old in 1968; and women who were 30 to 44 years old in 1967. For each of the four groups a probability sample of the civilian noninstitutional sample population has been drawn by the U.S. Bureau of the Census from 235 sample areas representing every state and the District of Columbia. Each sample consists of approximately 5,000 people. Conclusions tentatively suggest: (1) There is an enormous diversity in the background of students, even when they are grouped into relatively homogenous curriculum categories. (2) Many of the students show the clear effect of inadequate or no vocational guidance in their hopes and educational objectives. (3) Even in a world in which guidance was both accurate and abundant, many careers would be begun, terminated, and changed as a result of exogenous and accidental events that are completely outside the control of the student. (4) Most of the men in this study had vague career goals that were subject to many changes. (5) Higher education in the United States is clearly one of the most effective channels of upward intergenerational mobility, and this too different by curriculum field. Additional conclusions and case histories are included. (MJM)