Evaluating career success of African American males: It's what you know and who you are that matters

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to identify the factors related to career success of college educated, African American men and to explore the relative importance of human capital, social capital, individual differences, and demographic attributes in predicting career success. Using a sample of 247 African American males, we found some variables identified in previous research using primarily Caucasian samples were related to career success with this sample, while others were not. Additionally, human capital variables and demographic variables were found to the most important sets of predictors for career success. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.