WHAT’S AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE WORTH? ANALYZING ECONOMIC, SUBJECTIVE, AND CLASS IDENTITY RETURNS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

Autori

  • Osasohan Agbonlahor Department of Leadership Studies and Adult Education North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v12i6.6051

Parole chiave:

academic disciplines, career outcomes, educational returns, job satisfaction, social class, gender differences, human capital

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the multidimensional returns to different academic disciplines by examining income differentials, job satisfaction, and subjective social class identification across five major categories: Business, STEM, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Other fields. Using nationally representative data from the General Social Survey (2012-2022), I analyze outcomes among 5,324 college graduates through multiple regression models that account for demographic and contextual factors. Results reveal significant differences in economic returns, with STEM graduates earning approximately 12.3% more than Business graduates, while Social Sciences majors earn 9.4% less. However, job satisfaction shows minimal variation across disciplines, suggesting that subjective well-being may depend more on person-environment fit than field-specific advantages. Subjective social class identification demonstrates significant field-based variation even after controlling for income, with STEM graduates most likely (β = 0.277, p < 0.001) and Humanities (β = -0.350, p < 0.01) and Other fields (β = -0.579, p < 0.01) least likely to identify with higher social classes. Gender moderates these relationships, with smaller gender gaps in Social Sciences (β = 0.146, p < 0.05) and Humanities (β = 0.225, p < 0.01) compared to Business and STEM fields. A composite ROI index integrating all three dimensions confirms STEM's overall advantage (β = 0.092, p < 0.001), followed by Business, with Social Sciences (β = -0.066, p < 0.01), Humanities (β = -0.097, p < 0.01), and Other fields (β = -0.156, p < 0.05) showing progressively lower comprehensive returns. The study provides evidence-based insights for educational policy, career guidance, and individual decision-making, suggesting that optimal educational choices may differ depending on which dimensions of success individuals prioritize. By revealing how different academic disciplines shape multiple aspects of career outcomes, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between educational investment and life trajectories in modern society.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

Biografia autore

  • Osasohan Agbonlahor, Department of Leadership Studies and Adult Education North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA

    Dr. Osasohan Agbonlahor is an Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Her research interests include international student experiences and trajectories, postbaccalaureate outcomes, doctoral education, and the representation of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0667-1994.

Riferimenti bibliografici

Altonji, J. G., Blom, E., & Meghir, C. (2012). Heterogeneity in human capital investments: High school curriculum, college major, and careers. Annual Review of Economics, 4(1), 185-223. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080511-110908

Arcidiacono, P. (2004). Ability sorting and the returns to college major. Journal of Econometrics, 121(1-2), 343-375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2003.10.010

Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. University of Chicago Press.

Bender, K. A., & Heywood, J. S. (2006). Job satisfaction of the highly educated: The role of gender, academic tenure, and earnings. Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 53(2), 253-279. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9485.2006.00379.x

Bertrand, M., Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2010). Dynamics of the gender gap for young professionals in the financial and corporate sectors. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2(3), 228-255. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.2.3.228

Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2017). The gender wage gap: Extent, trends, and explanations. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(3), 789-865. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20160995

Blau, P. M., & Duncan, O. D. (1967). The American occupational structure. John Wiley & Sons. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-00038-000

Borgen, N. T., & Mastekaasa, A. (2018). Horizontal stratification of higher education: The relative importance of field of study, institution, and department for candidates' wages. Social Forces, 97(2), 531-558. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy075

Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Harvard University Press.

Carnevale, A. P., Cheah, B., & Hanson, A. R. (2015). The economic value of college majors. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/valueofcollegemajors/

Cha, Y., & Weeden, K. A. (2014). Overwork and the slow convergence in the gender gap in wages. American Sociological Review, 79(3), 457-484. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414528936

Clark, A. E., Diener, E., Georgellis, Y., & Lucas, R. E. (2008). Lags and leads in life satisfaction: A test of the baseline hypothesis. The Economic Journal, 118(529), F222-F243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02150.x

Clark, A. E., & Oswald, A. J. (1996). Satisfaction and comparison income. Journal of Public Economics, 61(3), 359-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2727(95)01564-7

Collins, P. H. (2015). Intersectionality's definitional dilemmas. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-073014-112142

Correll, S. J., Benard, S., & Paik, I. (2007). Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112(5), 1297-1338. https://doi.org/10.1086/511799

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139-167.

Davern, M., Bautista, R., Freese, J., Herd, P., & Morgan, S. L. (2024). General Social Survey, 1972–2022 (Release 4) [Data file and codebook]. NORC at the University of Chicago.

Delaney, J. M., & Devereux, P. J. (2019). Understanding gender differences in STEM: Evidence from college applications. Economics of Education Review, 72, 219-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.06.002

Deming, D. J. (2017). The growing importance of social skills in the labor market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(4), 1593-1640. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjx022

DiPrete, T. A., & Buchmann, C. (2013). The rise of women: The growing gender gap in education and what it means for American schools. Russell Sage Foundation. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED578913

Eide, E., Hilmer, M. J., & Showalter, M. H. (2016). Is it where you go or what you study? The relative influence of college selectivity and college major on earnings. Contemporary Economic Policy, 34(1), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12115

England, P., Allison, P., Li, S., Mark, N., Thompson, J., Budig, M. J., & Sun, H. (2007). Why are some academic fields tipping toward female? The sex composition of U.S. fields of doctoral degree receipt, 1971–2002. Sociology of Education, 80(1), 23-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070708000102

Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202

Goldin, C. (2014). A grand gender convergence: Its last chapter. American Economic Review, 104(4), 1091-1119. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.4.1091

Hershbein, B., & Kearney, M. S. (2020). Major decisions: What graduates earn over their lifetimes. The Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution. https://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/major_decisions_what_graduates_earn_over_their_lifetimes

Heslin, P. A. (2005). Conceptualizing and evaluating career success. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(2), 113-136. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.270

Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.

Kalleberg, A. L. (2011). Good jobs, bad jobs: The rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United States, 1970s to 2000s. Russell Sage Foundation.

Kalleberg, A. L. (2018). Precarious lives: Job insecurity and well-being in rich democracies. John Wiley & Sons.

Kim, C., Tamborini, C. R., & Sakamoto, A. (2015). Field of study in college and lifetime earnings in the United States. Sociology of Education, 88(4), 320-339. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040715602132

Kirkeboen, L. J., Leuven, E., & Mogstad, M. (2016). Field of study, earnings, and self-selection. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 131(3), 1057-1111. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjw019

Laurison, D., & Friedman, S. (2016). The class pay gap in higher professional and managerial occupations. American Sociological Review, 81(4), 668-695. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122416653602

Levanon, A., England, P., & Allison, P. (2009). Occupational feminization and pay: Assessing causal dynamics using 1950–2000 U.S. census data. Social Forces, 88(2), 865-891. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0264

Michelmore, K., & Sassler, S. (2016). Explaining the gender wage gap in STEM: Does field sex composition matter? The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 2(4), 194-215. https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2016.2.4.07

Mincer, J. (1974). Schooling, experience, and earnings. Columbia University Press.

Mullen, A. L. (2010). Degrees of inequality: Culture, class, and gender in American higher education. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Ng, T. W., Eby, L. T., Sorensen, K. L., & Feldman, D. C. (2005). Predictors of objective and subjective career success: A meta‐analysis. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 367-408. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.00515.x

Oreopoulos, P., & Petronijevic, U. (2013). Making college worth it: A review of the returns to higher education. The Future of Children, 23(1), 41-65. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2013.0001

Pallas, A. M. (2000). The effects of schooling on individual lives. In M. T. Hallinan (Ed.), Handbook of the sociology of education (pp. 499-525). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-36424-2_23

Porter, S. R., & Umbach, P. D. (2006). College major choice: An analysis of person–environment fit. Research in Higher Education, 47(4), 429-449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-9002-3

Quadlin, N. (2018). The mark of a woman's record: Gender and academic performance in hiring. American Sociological Review, 83(2), 331-360. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418762291

Reeves, A., Friedman, S., Rahal, C., & Flemmen, M. (2017). The decline and persistence of the old boy: Private schools and elite recruitment 1897 to 2016. American Sociological Review, 82(6), 1139-1166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122417735742

Ridgeway, C. L. (2011). Framed by gender: How gender inequality persists in the modern world. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755776.001.0001

Rivera, L. A. (2015). Pedigree: How elite students get elite jobs. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400865895

Robst, J. (2007). Education and job match: The relatedness of college major and work. Economics of Education Review, 26(4), 397-407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2006.08.003

Robst, J., & VanGilder, J. (2016). Salary and job satisfaction among economics and business graduates: The effect of match between degree field and job. International Review of Economics Education, 21, 30-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2015.11.001

Roksa, J., & Levey, T. (2010). What can you do with that degree? College major and occupational status of college graduates over time. Social Forces, 89(2), 389-415. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2010.0085

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68

Sennett, R., & Cobb, J. (1972). The hidden injuries of class. W. W. Norton & Company.

Sewell, W. H., Haller, A. O., & Portes, A. (1969). The educational and early occupational attainment process. American Sociological Review, 34(1), 82-92. https://doi.org/10.2307/2092789

Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355-374. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882010

Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI). Journal of Career Assessment, 20(3), 322-337. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072711436160

Stevens, M. L., Armstrong, E. A., & Arum, R. (2008). Sieve, incubator, temple, hub: Empirical and theoretical advances in the sociology of higher education. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 127-151. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134737

Thomas, S. L., & Zhang, L. (2005). Post-baccalaureate wage growth within 4 years of graduation: The effects of college quality and college major. Research in Higher Education, 46(4), 437-459. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-2969-y

Torche, F. (2011). Is a college degree still the great equalizer? Intergenerational mobility across levels of schooling in the United States. American Journal of Sociology, 117(3), 763-807. https://doi.org/10.1086/661904

Veblen, T. (1924). The theory of the leisure class: An economic study of institutions. Allen & Unwin.

Webber, D. A. (2014). The lifetime earnings premia of different majors: Correcting for selection based on cognitive, noncognitive, and unobserved factors. Labour Economics, 28, 14-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2014.03.009

Wolniak, G. C., & Pascarella, E. T. (2005). The effects of college major and job field congruence on job satisfaction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67(2), 233-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2004.08.010

Xu, Y. J. (2013). Career outcomes of STEM and non-STEM college graduates: Persistence in majored-field and influential factors in career choices. Research in Higher Education, 54(3), 349-382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-012-9275-2

Dowloads

Pubblicato

2025-06-03

Fascicolo

V. 12 N. 6 (2025)

Sezione

Articles

Licenza

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).