Exploring the associations among major fields of study, pre-professional activities, and post-college job quality in alumnx of liberal arts colleges

Abstract Across several decades of studies seeking to examine the effects of college on students’ careers, earnings are the outcome that has captured the most attention, as discussed by Mayhew et al. (2016), and large-scale efforts like the College Scorecard feature median earnings as the only career outcome displayed, presented alongside graduation rates and annual average costs in its college search website, as discussed by USDOE (2023). The study sought to build upon and nuance of prior research by examining the effects of higher education on students’ career outcomes based on a multifaceted conceptualization of job quality. The results reinforce the importance of pre-professional activities such as internships and participating in faculty research, although the frequency of engagement differed by major and student race. Ultimately, the findings provide new evidence in three areas: the associations between undergraduate major and the quality of one’s first job following graduation and the impact of engaging in pre-professional activities during college; the associations between undergraduate major and the quality of one's current job, and the mediated role of engaging in pre-professional activities during college and the quality of one’s first job; and the extent to which these mechanisms differ between alumnx from the global majority and those who identify as White.