Part-Time Work and Occupational Value Formation in Adolescence

Abstract

This study examines the interrelations of work experiences and occupational values in a panel of 1,000 ninth-graders followed over a four-year period. Neither employment itself nor hours of work had substantial effects on occupational value formation. However, the opportunity to learn useful skills at work was a consistent positive influence on increasingly stable intrnsic and extrnsic value dimensions. We conclude that the central finding of research on work and adult psychological functioning - that the conditions of work are what matter - can be generalized to adolescents. Given that work values are important determinants of vocational choice (Davis 1965; Mortimer 1974) and actual occupational destinations (Mortimer, Lorence & Kumka 1986), it is important to understand their origins. This article addresses a potentially important, but thus far neglected, influence - adolescent work experience. American teenagers increasingly hold part-time jobs while attending school (Manning 1990). Because adolescence is a crucially important period for the formation of vocational interests and identity (Erikson 1968), it is reasonable to suppose that work experience would have a significant formative influence on adolescents' thinking about the potential rewards to be obtained