Early Work Histories of Urban Youth

Abstract

Using a life course framework, we examine Baltimore adolescents’ paid work from ages 13 to 18 to describe (1) the start of the transition to adulthood; (2) how work interlaces with schooling; (3) how work is segmented along sociodemographic lines, and (4) how early work (at ages 13 and 14) affects later high school work (at ages 15 to 18). White youth in Baltimore more often held jobs than did African American youth, even though African Americans applied for jobs more often than did whites. Once white students started school-year work, they were more likely than were African Americans to work in every subsequent school year. At ages 13 and 14, compared to their more advantaged counterparts, more of the economically disadvantaged youngsters and those with relatively poor school records held semiskilled rather than unskilled jobs. Semiskilled (clerical, sales, craft) work at age 13 was a substantial determinant of holding a similar job at later ages (15 and 17). By age 17, however, the reverse was true; Students with better school records were more likely to hold semiskilled jobs than were students with poorer records.