Background: Labor market entry is difficult for two-year college graduates. Job search literature focuses on personal connections, but disadvantaged students often lack useful contacts. Moreover, employers often don't recognize and value two-year college credentials as much as bachelor's degrees. Teacher contacts could help, but studies find that…

Two-year colleges used to be a small part of higher education, but they now enroll almost half of all entering college students. This report suggests new data is needed on this evolving sector of academe, including: (1) What are the unseen barriers in two-year-colleges?; (2) What are the unseen college options?; (3) What are the implications of…

While much research has examined how education influences work outcomes, fewer scholars have questioned whether or how school-labor market relationships might influence educational outcomes. With their rising enrollments and growing occupational programs, 2-year colleges are an increasingly important site of the school-to-work transition. Using…

Examines whether youths use different ways to contact employers and whether their methods affect their job earnings. Reveals that most types of contacts have little effect on early earnings, but relatives and school contacts place students in jobs that lead to higher earnings nine years later. (Contains 52 references.) (CMK)