The Influence of "High-Impact" College Experiences on Early Career Outcomes

Presented at:
AERA 2015 Annual Meeting
April 18, 2015

Gregory C. Wolniak, NYU
Mark E. Engberg, Loyola University Chicago

Abstract
The study contributes new empirical evidence on the associations between “high-impact” (AAC&U, 2007) college experiences and career outcomes in the years immediately following college graduation, and fills a knowledge gap surrounding the effects of specific college experiences in relation to economic and attitudinal career outcomes. ELS:2002/12 data were utilized to examine a set of high-impact college experiences in relationship to earnings, continued job-related learning and challenge, job satisfaction, job commitment, and working in a supportive environment. The results highlight that specific college experiences differentially influence career outcomes in the years immediately following college, and that major field of study, institutional quality, and major-job congruence exert the most substantial influence on early career outcomes.

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