Effects of high school work experience a decade later: Evidence from the national longitudinal survey

This article reports findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on the effects of working while in high school on educational attainment and a variety of labor force outcomes roughly a decade after high school completion. Previous studies focused on short-term consequences and reported mixed and contradictory results. The results of this analysis of long-term effects suggest moderately negative effects on educational attainment in that working youths are less likely to attend or to complete four or more years of college. However, working during high school has a positive effect on a variety of labor force outcomes (labor force participation, employment status, and income) even a decade later, despite the small educational decrement that working youths suffer. The authors conclude that, a decade later, the labor force and income gains somewhat offset the educational decrements that are related to working while in high school.