Baccalaureate Education and the Employment Decision: Self-Employment and the Class of 1993

Abstract

This paper delves into the relation of collegiate education to the employment decision. We are able to identify specific characteristics of the individuals who are self-employed versus those who opt to work for a for-profit business, a not-for-profit entity, or the government (including the military). Specifically, this research utilizes the U.S. Department of Education's Baccalaureate & Beyond (B&B) data series, which tracks college and university graduates in the class of 1993. Unlike others who pursue wage-and-salary occupations in the not-for-profit or government sectors, students in the class of 1993 who were self-employed in 2003 were less likely to have earned or be currently enrolled in graduate education. Graduates with social science and other majors were more likely to be self-employed. In addition, those individuals who chose self-employment had shorter job tenures than others, such as those who now work for government or the military.