Kala Krishna, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Russell Paul Chuderewicz, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Education economics college attainment occupational outcomes student ability students college occupation jobs
Abstract:
Abilities, interests, and socioeconomic status are all important factors in determining
the occupation a student is likely to pursue. In this paper, we intend to study
which factor—ability or interest—is a greater determinant of occupational choice and
whether either affects future wages or job satisfaction. Using the Project TALENT
dataset, a longitudinal study consisting of approximately 400,000 high school students
initially tested in 1960, we find that interest plays a greater role than ability in predicting
a student’s occupation. However, we did not find significant effects of ability
or interest affecting individuals’ wages or job satisfaction levels.
