ERIC Number: EJ1443128
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Oct
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0038-0407
EISSN: EISSN-1939-8573
Pink Slips (for Some): Campus Employment, Social Class, and COVID-19
Anthony Abraham Jack; Becca Spindel Bassett
Sociology of Education, v97 n4 p299-315 2024
Although undergraduates from all class backgrounds work while attending college, little is known about how students approach finding work and the benefits they reap from different on-campus roles. Drawing on interviews with 110 undergraduates at Harvard University, we show that in the absence of clear institutional expectations surrounding on-campus work opportunities, students draw on class-based strategies to determine which jobs are "right for them." Upper-income students pursued "life of the mind" jobs that permitted them access to institutional resources and networks. Alternatively, lower-income students pursued more transactional "work for pay" positions that yielded fewer institutional benefits and connections. The consequences of these differential strategies were amplified during COVID-19 campus closures as work-for-pay positions were eliminated while life of the mind continued remotely. Through documenting heterogeneity in work experiences, we reveal a class-segregated labor market on campus and extend previous analyses of how university practices exacerbate class differences and reproduce inequality.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Student Employment, Socioeconomic Background, Employment Opportunities, Social Class, COVID-19, Pandemics, School Closing, Race
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2993
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A