View in EDS

Precarious Prospects: Education Pays, yet Socioeconomic Disparities Persist in Illinois Students' Later Earnings. Illinois High School to Career Series. Part One

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Precarious Prospects: Education Pays, yet Socioeconomic Disparities Persist in Illinois Students' Later Earnings. Illinois High School to Career Series. Part One
Language: English
Authors: Sarah Cashdollar, Meg Bates, Jenny Nagaoka, Erin Mitchell, Caitlin Clinton, Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC), University of Chicago Consortium on School Research
Source: Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative, Discovery Partners Institute. 2025.
Availability: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, State of Illinois for Discovery Partners Institute. 200 South Wacker Drive, 20th Floor, Chicago, IL 60304. Tel: 217-766-6779; e-mail: IWERC@mx.uillinois.edu; Web site: https://dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-research/iwerc/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 51
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Secondary Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Education Work Relationship, High School Seniors, Socioeconomic Status, Low Income Students, Postsecondary Education, Careers, Income, Educational Attainment, Industry, Outcomes of Education, Racial Differences, Gender Differences, Social Mobility, Geographic Location
Geographic Terms: Illinois
Abstract: In a society where individuals can control their own destiny, socioeconomic origins would have little bearing on educational outcomes or earnings prospects. This ideal has driven the work of generations of Illinois educators, activists, policymakers, and employers, and it animates current statewide efforts to provide equal opportunities and equitable outcomes for all residents. In this context, do the present-day opportunities available to youth from low-income families offer secure futures, or do they perpetuate the precarious state of low wages across generations? This study, the first in the Illinois High School to Career series, examines education and earnings outcomes for Illinois youth from families across the socioeconomic spectrum. It draws on data from the Illinois High School to Career project, which documents the post-high school pathways of select Illinois high school seniors from the classes of 2008 to 2012, including their postsecondary educational experiences and career outcomes. Findings show that for these students, the economic environment in which they were raised is not destiny, but it does matter a great deal for predicting outcomes, intersecting with race and gender to exacerbate existing inequalities. This report reviews existing literature on intergenerational mobility and provides background on the Illinois High School to Career project and data sample. The authors then describe the demographic characteristics of Illinois high school seniors from low-income households and examine their postsecondary educational and career pathways, including the highest degrees they earned, their degree programs, their industries of employment, and earnings. Finally, this report compares how students from households with different income levels varied in their career earnings when grouped by race, gender, highest degree, degree program, and industry of employment. The findings suggest that work to expand educational and employment opportunity can indeed create upward socioeconomic mobility, yet Illinois remains far from achieving its meritocratic ideals. At the same time, the authors observed many low-income students across racial/ethnic and gender groups who beat the odds, earning high levels of education and robust wages. Report 2 of the Illinois High School to Career series, Promising Pathways, will examine the pathways of these outlier students, remaining cognizant that their very status as outliers evinces the presence of systemic and pervasive inequalities. [Pritzker Traubert Foundation supported this work.]
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED675403
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED675403
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED675403
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Report
PubTypeId: report
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Precarious Prospects: Education Pays, yet Socioeconomic Disparities Persist in Illinois Students' Later Earnings. Illinois High School to Career Series. Part One
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarah+Cashdollar%22">Sarah Cashdollar</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meg+Bates%22">Meg Bates</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jenny+Nagaoka%22">Jenny Nagaoka</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Erin+Mitchell%22">Erin Mitchell</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Caitlin+Clinton%22">Caitlin Clinton</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Illinois+Workforce+and+Education+Research+Collaborative+%28IWERC%29%22">Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22University+of+Chicago+Consortium+on+School+Research%22">University of Chicago Consortium on School Research</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Illinois+Workforce+and+Education+Research+Collaborative%2C+Discovery+Partners+Institute%22"><i>Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative, Discovery Partners Institute</i></searchLink>. 2025.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, State of Illinois for Discovery Partners Institute. 200 South Wacker Drive, 20th Floor, Chicago, IL 60304. Tel: 217-766-6779; e-mail: IWERC@mx.uillinois.edu; Web site: https://dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-research/iwerc/
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 51
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22High+Schools%22">High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+Work+Relationship%22">Education Work Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+School+Seniors%22">High School Seniors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Socioeconomic+Status%22">Socioeconomic Status</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Low+Income+Students%22">Low Income Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Careers%22">Careers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Income%22">Income</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Attainment%22">Educational Attainment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industry%22">Industry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Outcomes+of+Education%22">Outcomes of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Racial+Differences%22">Racial Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Differences%22">Gender Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Mobility%22">Social Mobility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geographic+Location%22">Geographic Location</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Illinois%22">Illinois</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: In a society where individuals can control their own destiny, socioeconomic origins would have little bearing on educational outcomes or earnings prospects. This ideal has driven the work of generations of Illinois educators, activists, policymakers, and employers, and it animates current statewide efforts to provide equal opportunities and equitable outcomes for all residents. In this context, do the present-day opportunities available to youth from low-income families offer secure futures, or do they perpetuate the precarious state of low wages across generations? This study, the first in the Illinois High School to Career series, examines education and earnings outcomes for Illinois youth from families across the socioeconomic spectrum. It draws on data from the Illinois High School to Career project, which documents the post-high school pathways of select Illinois high school seniors from the classes of 2008 to 2012, including their postsecondary educational experiences and career outcomes. Findings show that for these students, the economic environment in which they were raised is not destiny, but it does matter a great deal for predicting outcomes, intersecting with race and gender to exacerbate existing inequalities. This report reviews existing literature on intergenerational mobility and provides background on the Illinois High School to Career project and data sample. The authors then describe the demographic characteristics of Illinois high school seniors from low-income households and examine their postsecondary educational and career pathways, including the highest degrees they earned, their degree programs, their industries of employment, and earnings. Finally, this report compares how students from households with different income levels varied in their career earnings when grouped by race, gender, highest degree, degree program, and industry of employment. The findings suggest that work to expand educational and employment opportunity can indeed create upward socioeconomic mobility, yet Illinois remains far from achieving its meritocratic ideals. At the same time, the authors observed many low-income students across racial/ethnic and gender groups who beat the odds, earning high levels of education and robust wages. Report 2 of the Illinois High School to Career series, Promising Pathways, will examine the pathways of these outlier students, remaining cognizant that their very status as outliers evinces the presence of systemic and pervasive inequalities. [Pritzker Traubert Foundation supported this work.]
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: ERIC
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED675403
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED675403
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 51
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Education Work Relationship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: High School Seniors
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Socioeconomic Status
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Low Income Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Postsecondary Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Careers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Income
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Attainment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Industry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Outcomes of Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Racial Differences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gender Differences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Mobility
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Geographic Location
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Illinois
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Precarious Prospects: Education Pays, yet Socioeconomic Disparities Persist in Illinois Students' Later Earnings. Illinois High School to Career Series. Part One
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC)
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sarah Cashdollar
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Meg Bates
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Jenny Nagaoka
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Erin Mitchell
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Caitlin Clinton
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative, Discovery Partners Institute
              Type: main
ResultId 1