Entry-Level Work as a Stepping Stone, Not an End Point - January 2021
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Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Entry-Level Work as a Stepping Stone, Not an End Point January 2021 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021 1
Burning
Burning Glass
Glass Technologies
Technologies // Schultz
AmericanFamily
Student
Foundation
Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and theirofEmployers
Table Contents
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary pg 4
2. Introduction pg 8
3. Context pg 14
4. Findings pg 18
5. Implications and Conclusion pg 28
6. Appendix: Methodology pg 36
2 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgements
This report was made possible through
the generous support of the Schultz Family
Foundation. Burning Glass Technologies
wishes to acknowledge the entire Schultz
Family Foundation team, and especially
Sheri and Howard Schultz, Tyra Mariani,
Marie Groark, Ellen Gardner, Paul Butler,
and Yeri Yun.
Burning Glass would also like to
acknowledge the hard work and dedication
of the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative (now
known as the Opportunity Hire Coalition),
including all Coalition member companies;
Staff (current and former) including Marie
Davis, Jason Rzepka, Dan McKenzie, and
Charles Hiteshew; and the communities
of Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle,
Dallas, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Miami.
Thanks also to Minna Son and NationSwell.
Authors
By Matthew Walsh
Burning Glass Technologies
With Marie Groark and Ellen Gardner of the
Schultz Family Foundation and Joel Simon
of Burning Glass Technologies
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 3
Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers 1. Executive Summary 4 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021
Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Executive Summary
Every career starts with a first job. At the hiring and employment practices amidst
beginning of nearly every person’s working economic recovery, and how those serving
life are work experiences that offer low opportunity youth can better position them
wages, unpredictable schedules, and great for success going forward.
uncertainty as to whether and how these
jobs will lead to more stable work. Young As the post COVID-19 economic recovery
people of means and those from more takes shape and employers face new
modest backgrounds alike participate in realities, they can use this unique moment to
entry-level work. But with weaker social reevaluate and redesign hiring and employee
capital and fewer educational opportunities, development in a way that helps their bottom
youth from lower-income backgrounds and line and allows the benefits of economic
more challenged academic experiences recovery to be shared more broadly
often find themselves struggling to move than prior to the crisis. By intentionally
from these initial work experiences into employing, developing and promoting
family-sustaining roles and viable careers. opportunity youth and others who have
been disproportionately impacted by the
With the support of the Schultz Family dual health and economic crises, employers
Foundation and in partnership with the can not only better engage, retain and
100,000 Opportunities Initiative (100K), nurture talent, but also facilitate opportunity
Burning Glass Technologies sought to to those with the fewest resources and drive
understand the experience of young people recovery that is equitable and enhances
aged 16-24 not in school, without college social mobility.
degrees and lacking work experience. These
“opportunity youth” often find themselves This research looks at tens of thousands
in entry-level work that may or may not of work histories as expressed in resumes
lead to better opportunities and family- uploaded to various websites, and
sustaining careers. While the research charts various forms of career progression
was conducted and completed prior to the and stagnation.
onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its
economic fallout, the lessons from these The analyses looked at worker experience
young people and their experiences can be across three dimensions at companies who
instructive in how employers reconsider have joined the 100K coalition and in so
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 5
Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
doing have committed to hiring, retaining, not necessarily at the same employer,
and supporting opportunity youth: but over the course of their employment.
Further, after these five years, 63% of these
Hiring: How often are opportunity youth young workers are in occupations paying
hired to fill entry-level vacancies? a living wage, up from 39% in their initial
job. The resume data does not indicate
Retention: How long do opportunity youth individuals’ racial identity, but disparate
work at their first listed employer? experiences of racial and ethnic minorities
in other areas (rates of disconnection, wage
Promotion and Advancement: What is the levels, etc.) indicate that those individuals
career progression of opportunity youth generally face greater challenges in entry-
following initial employment? How do they level employment, and likely face similar
fare over five years in terms of occupational disparities in advancement.
trajectory, salary, and achieving at least a
$15/hr wage? The data reveals three major patterns
of career progression. In an analysis that
The analyses revealed several observations: studies where new hires land five years
after their first job, the experience of young
Among the firms studied, young workers employees with limited work and education
with limited education and employment backgrounds present three quite distinct
history cluster in four main career areas. profiles:
Nine in 10 of these workers get their start in
sales, administrative support, food service, • Leapfrogging – 44% of young workers in
and transportation. this cohort showed progression from
their entry-level job, most moving into
Many young workers who begin with better paying jobs in other areas.
limited work experience and education
advance to better paying jobs and earn • Levelling Up – 8% of the studied young
a living wage. Just over half of such young workers progress to better-paying jobs
people hired into entry-level work at the within the career area of their initial
companies studied advance from entry-level entry-level role.
to better paying jobs in the first five years—
6 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021
Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Executive Summary
• Spinning Wheels – 48% of the young industries and career areas that characterize
workers in the database appear to be their first jobs.
stuck, with fewer than half earning a
living wage after 5 years working. Substantial, career-altering benefits can
accrue to young workers with limited
The average tenure listed on the educational or work experience who begin as
professional resumes of young people entry-level workers, but those benefits are by
with limited educational and work no-means assured. The experiences of those
experience who got their start at who Leapfrog and Level Up offers hope to
100K employers was 17 months. While workers and can encourage employers and
job retention is important for both the sectors who employ large numbers of these
employee and the employer, it is not clear workers to make these positive outcomes
whether these workers are experiencing more common, with benefits for workers,
greater benefit from retention, or their families and the economy as a whole.
whether they have stagnated in their As the U.S. navigates recovery from the
career experience and are missing out on COVID-19 crisis and its economic outcomes,
opportunities for advancement into better society can ill-afford to let young people’s
jobs with better wages and schedules. economic uncertainty deepen further. Rather,
at this time of reimagining how best to drive
There are a variety of jobs that young recovery, it is critical to fully reimagine entry-
workers with limited education and level work as a stepping-stone rather than a
work experience tend to take when trap, and to ensure all workers can use these
they advance. When these young workers early work experiences to launch successful,
transition out of entry-level work, they meaningful working lives.
do so most frequently by taking on roles
as managers or supervisors; some also
transition to jobs as computer user support
specialists, nursing assistants, and office
clerks – all roles that may become more
accessible by virtue of them developing
work habits and career experiences
generally, but that are outside of the
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 7
Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers 2. Introduction: Employing Young People at the Entry-level in Uncertain Times 8 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021
Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Introduction
For young people who are not employed than their majority counterparts as the
and not in school, an entry-level job can economy recovers.1 With high numbers of
seem like the first step towards a bright unemployed youth and adults vying for a
future. Among the 4.5 million young people narrower set of occupations, all workers can
in the U.S. who are disconnected from work expect greater competition for employment,
and school, there is a kernel of truth to this and workers with less experience and
idea. Nearly any job represents progress, education are relegated to an even narrower
and some fraction of these young people set of opportunities.
work in entry-level jobs that enable them
to develop skills, forge a career path, and At the same time, employers across the
eventually earn a living wage. However, economy are urgently seeking workers to fill
entry-level work is often marked by low pay, skills gaps. Those who have lost their jobs
unpredictable hours, harried conditions, high in the COVID-era may be accepting lower-
levels of physical proximity to colleagues and wage and lower-skilled jobs, flooding the
customers, and workers in these roles are labor market. Typically, recessions result in
by no means assured of a path to prosperity. increased demand for higher-level workers
Broad socioeconomic trends such as rising and individuals with niche skill sets, while
inequality and flattening economic mobility putting downward pressure on wages and
defy the notion that entry-level work opportunities for lower-wage and lower-
inevitably leads to a stable career. skilled workers. The current economic
downturn, however, is unique in many ways,
As acute as they were prior to 2019 when not the least of which is the bifurcation
this research was conducted, the COVID-19 of opportunity where we see high levels
crisis and its economic impacts have only of demand for individuals in retail and
exacerbated the challenges facing young logistic sectors, and decimation of jobs
workers and opportunity youth in particular. in hospitality, and alternatively cratering
Young workers and people of color have and spiking demand in various corners of
disproportionately suffered the negative the food and restaurant sectors. Where
impacts of the COVID-19 economy, and demand is increasing in grocery and big-box
can expect to face greater challenges stores, specific or high-level skills may not
1 “Young workers likely to be hard hit as COVID-19 strikes a blow to restaurants and other service sector jobs, “Pew Research, March 27, 2020.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/27/young-workers-likely-to-be-hard-hit-as-covid-19-strikes-a-blow-to-restaurants-
and-other-service-sector-jobs
“Race, Risk, and Workforce Equity in the Coronavirus Economy,” Policy Link, June 2020.
https://www.policylink.org/our-work/economy/national-equity-atlas/COVID-workforce
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 9Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
be a factor. Rather, workers’ courage as A unique opportunity to conduct such
they expose themselves to the potentially- research is presented by a national project
infected public is a distinguishing feature. called 100K.
Equally important in this era of economic
inequality may be these workers’ need to
continue working and exposing themselves
to illness, as their pre-pandemic wages did 100K is a national coalition of large
not allow for substantial savings needed to
employers that have pledged to
suspend work and place a higher priority on
hire, retain, and promote young
one’s own health, and that of their families.
people who are not working and
Whether young or more seasoned, the not in school. Since its founding in
workers in these areas with high numbers 2015, the coalition has met its goal,
of job openings continue to work in these
twice over: Member companies
roles with limited view for how these jobs
have hired more than 200,000
can parlay into more stable opportunities
that can move them towards greater such young people.
economic mobility. Many companies that do
hire young workers with limited education
and work experience lack a plan for how to
develop these employees so that they can 100K includes firms employing large
succeed in their initial roles and build the numbers of entry-level workers and a visible
skills they need for more demanding jobs commitment to hiring and supporting
that would put them on a career pathway, opportunity youth; and offers a small
and ensure their ability to earn a living sample of firms from which to extract
wage. As companies increasingly look to general lessons about work in and after
youth and others to meet their demand entry level jobs.
for entry-level workers, it is worth
exploring employer behavior towards
this population and the career trajectories
these workers experience.
10 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Introduction
Ordinarily, studying the employment
experience of a large and geographically
dispersed set of workers or the hiring
and retention experience of hundreds of
employers is prohibitively complex, because
no common measures or datasets exist
across the wide diversity of companies and
employees. To overcome this challenge,
Burning Glass leveraged two of its unique
assets: a database of more than one
billion current and historical job postings
which provide a detailed view into the
jobs and skills that employers demand,
and a database of over 50 million resumes
illuminating the actual career progression met three characteristics: no bachelor’s
of American workers. By curating and degree, not in school, and fewer than
analyzing these rich compilations of data, seven years of work experience. Burning
Burning Glass can detect patterns and shine Glass further subset the same to workers
a light on complex dynamics that other who started off in entry-level jobs, jobs
methods of study cannot reveal. typically requiring little education and work
experience. Burning Glass included resumes
With support from the Schultz Family with a first job as early as 2010, in order to
Foundation, Burning Glass sought to better capture the career trajectories typical of the
understand the experiences of entry-level current workforce. Finally, Burning Glass
workers and their employers — especially sorted workers according to whether their
those who are members of the 100,000 entry-level job was at a 100K employer or a
Coalition — and to examine the nature of broader peer group of top retail companies,
labor market demand for jobs that young hospitality companies, and food service
people with limited work and education firms to assess the work of the companies in
experience could fill. Burning Glass scanned the coalition.
its millions of resumes for workers that
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 11Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
Burning Glass Technologies used aggregate data from millions of resumes and job postings to
study three large questions:
+ What jobs are held by workers with limited educational attainment and work
experience? How often are these workers hired to fill entry-level vacancies? Are there
differential patterns of hiring for this population across the labor market, for example
by industry? Do experiences differ between workers in 100K coalition companies and
other companies?
+ What is the career progression of workers with limited education and work
experience following entry-level employment? How do they fare over five years,
in terms of retention at their initial place of work, salary increases, and career
advancement? Are some pathways into and beyond entry-level jobs more likely to
lead to advancement than others?
+ Can employers successfully hire and retain more entry-level workers with
limited education and work experience? What is the nature of demand for such
workers, and where is demand the greatest? Can efforts to hire more such young
workers, like those of 100K, produce evidence of their impact? Are some sectors or
industries particularly well-suited to this approach?
The research suggests policies that can be implemented to support workers in entry-level work,
particularly among engaged employers like those in 100K. This report shares the findings and
the implications of this work, and emphasizes that even lower-wage/lower-skill opportunities
can lead to advancement, and that employers have multiple tools at their disposal to be agents
in increasing economic mobility and addressing inequities.
While today’s labor market dynamics have changed substantially and the supply of and demand
for workers is not what they were just a few months ago, fundamentally the findings in this
report remain applicable. However long this economic downturn lasts, there is never a bad time
to invest in workers, in their skills, and in opening up new opportunities for our increasingly
diverse youth population.
12 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Introduction
100,000 Opportunities Initiative
The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative (100K) is predictability, and funded initiatives that create
a national coalition of employers, foundations, career pathways.
and community organizations committed to
reinventing hiring, retention, and advancement of Hiring young workers who have limited
young people who have limited educational and education and work experience can help
work experience. These young workers are out businesses thrive. The coalition is working with
of school and ready to work but often face social, more than 55 companies that recognize the
geographic, and financial barriers to economic value of engaging with these young workers.
opportunity; they are disproportionately people This process helps companies close the gap
of color from low-income communities. Measure between their demand for labor and the limited
of America estimates there are 4.5 million supply of workers they can access using a
opportunity youth in the United States.2 traditional set of requirements. Supported by
collaboration with the coalition’s community
Since its launch in 2015, 100K has brought partners, these companies see their youth
together more than 55 employers with private employment efforts yield significant returns
sector and non-profit partners. Working through increased retention rates and more
together, they access new sources of talent motivated and successful employees.
that have not traditionally been included in our
nation’s prosperity. The Initiative has exceeded To ensure success in hiring and retention,
its initial goal twice over: more than 200,000 partner employers gain access to an under-
young workers have been hired by coalition utilized talent pool of young people who have
partners. 3 Recently, the Initiative embraced the skills and ability to successfully take on
an accelerated, ambitious goal: to ensure one entry-level roles. Many coalition partners rely
million such young adults are hired by 2021. on the learning they do with one another:
Employers and organizations share best
Connecting these young people to employment hiring and retention practices, learn from
is an important first step, but 100K is invested in their unique experiences, and collectively
their full career. The Initiative advocates for the build on success. By demonstrating leadership
retention and advancement of these workers around youth employment and sparking
once they are on the job, and coalition partners innovation, participating companies contribute
have developed training programs, built to the strength and resilience of their
scheduling systems that prioritize flexibility and local communities.
2 “Making the Connection” (Measure of America, 2019) by Kristen Lewis
https://ssrc-static.s3.amazonaws.com/moa/Making%20the%20Connection.pdf
3 “Halve the Gap” (Measure of America, 2013) by Kristen Lewis and Sarah Burd-Sharps
https://mk0moaorgidkh7gsb4pe.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/MOA-Halve-the-Gap-ALL-10.25.13.pdf
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 13Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers 3. Context 14 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021
Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Context
The challenges facing young people who The number of young people who
have little work experience and lower
are neither in school nor employed
educational attainment are not new, but the
is expected to rise dramatically
population received renewed attention and
garnered new forms of engagement when
given the economic shock-waves
its ranks swelled by more than 800,000 in from COVID-19. Experts expect the
the years following the Great Recession.3 gains made over the last decade
Historically, the public and civic sectors
will be erased completely.4,5
have engaged these young people directly,
through expanded pathways to formal
Intervention on behalf of these young
education, skills training and credentialing,
people has traditionally been the domain of
and job placement. These actors have also
governments, policymakers, and community
been trying to make the business case to
organizations, rather than the corporate
employers that youth with limited education
sector. The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2012)
and work history could be the right talent
traces government involvement targeting
to meet their employment and workforce
youth who were not working or in school
needs. As a function of broad economic
to the 1960s.6 An article in the Stanford
recovery and the renewed activity around
Social Innovation Review (2014) reminds
young people who have limited educational
readers that even disconnected youth are
and work experience, the rate of youth
connected—to friends, families, and their
disconnection — a measure of young people
community—and that often these actors
who are neither in school nor employed —
are the first to lend support. Measure
was in 2019 down to 11.7% after the post-
of America (2019) spotlights the work of
recession high of 14.7%. 2
government and community organizations
in reengagement projects in King County,
Washington; Nashville, Tennessee; and the
state of Colorado that collect and share
4 “A Decade Undone” (Measure of America, 2020) by Kristen Lewis https://ssrc-static.s3.amazonaws.com/moa/ADecadeUndone.pdf
5 “Breaking Down the Numbers: What Does COVID-10 Mean for Youth Unemployment?” (Mathematica, 2020)
https://www.mathematica.org/our-publications-and-findings/publications/breaking-down-the-numbers-what-does-covid-19-mean-for-
youth-unemployment
6 “Kids Count” (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012) http://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/AECF-YouthAndWork-2012-Full.pdf
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 15Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
data and use their collective knowledge Over the past few years, a tight labor market
to reengage disconnected young people stimulated the interest of employers in
with education or employment. Bringing doing more to hire and retain youth with
employment opportunities directly to young limited work experience and educational
adults is an important feature of these attainment. As it became harder to find and
programs, since a special report from the keep talent, employers were more willing
Congressional Research Service (2015) found to consider nontraditional candidates via
that nearly a third of disconnected youth nontraditional pipelines. This led to some
(36%) cite an inability to find work as their innovations in practice. A 2019 report on
cause for disconnection. Governments, 100K profiles a series of efforts to partner
policymakers, and community organizations with employers in six cities where member
remain very involved with connecting young companies were facing the greatest need for
people to employment. entry-level workers. The report states that
in these “Demonstration Cities,” hiring fairs
However, no group is better positioned supported by the Initiative and community
to connect youth with employment than partners resulted in job offers to as many
employers themselves. Advocates for as 47% of participants, often made on the
youth have long been vocal in their day of the job fair, after a newly designed
requests for employer participation. In interview and screening process. While
their National Roadmap for Opportunity today’s COVID-era demand picture may
Youth, Civic Enterprises (2012) calls for have shifted, the positive experiences have
meaningful engagement of employers as caused greater recognition of successes in
part of the solution. In its annual reports, employing opportunity youth. As companies
Measure of America spotlights where increase their commitments to racial equity,
employers build apprenticeships or other these lessons continue to have purchase
programs to help young people with limited even in this challenging time.
education and work experience to connect
with employment.
16 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Context Despite this flurry of activity, and these ongoing calls to action, little research has been conducted on employer behavior towards youth who have limited work experience and educational attainment, or the experiences of the youth who work at those firms. This paper aims to fill that gap. In what follows, Burning Glass uses its resume database to assess employer patterns of hiring, retatining young people with limited education and work experience, and to map out some future avenues for inquiry and action. © Burning Glass Technologies 2021 17
Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers 4. Findings 18 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021
Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Findings
Hiring Youth with Limited a second job and connected to online
Education and Work employment networks and may omit
Experience those who have not tendered resumes
subsequent to their gaining these earlies
Every career begins with a job offer. The jobs. But the relative comparison between
founding purpose of 100K is to ensure that 100K and peer companies shows different
literally hundreds of thousands of youth employer attitudes can affect who is
and young adults with limited educational hired for similar jobs: Entry-level positions
and work experience receive and accept were 50% more likely to be held by young
such invitations. Therefore, the first people with limited work and education
priority for analysis is to examine just experience at 100K employers relative to
how effectively coalition companies are peer employers. To further the benefits of
hiring these young people, and what this openness, 100K companies and others
kinds of comparisons can be drawn to the can consider ways to build on these early
experience of other companies. engagements, reward entry-level workers’
loyalty, and advance these workers into
100K employers hire young people with roles with increasing responsibility and
limited work experience and less than greater earnings.
a bachelor’s degree into entry-level
jobs more often than peer employers. Food preparation and food service industry
Of the entry-level positions listed on companies have a demonstrated capacity to
professional resumes, young people with engage young people with limited education
limited work experience and less than a and employment history. Such companies
bachelor’s degree hold a quarter (24%) of hire these young people more often: Of
those positions at 100K employers relative the top five employers that fill the greatest
to a sixth (16%) at other top retail and food percentage of their entry-level vacancies
service companies not in the 100K coalition. with such youth, four are food service
The rate of hiring from this population is companies, and the fifth is a grocery chain.
likely higher for both employer cohorts,
as these figures come from professional It is also worth examining who else
resumes tendered online and therefore companies hire, if not young people from
indicate workers that are seeking at least this cohort. Of the remaining entry-level
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 19Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
positions at 100K employers listed on can make recovery and stimulus funds
professional resumes, nearly a fourth contingent upon filling the newly available
had either a bachelor’s degree or were opportunities with job seekers who are
currently in college at the time of holding opportunity youth.
the position, and nearly two-thirds had
by then already accrued more than seven Career Progressions of Youth
years of work experience. There was large with Limited Education and
variation in employee characteristics Work Experience
between firms, however. At one large food
service chain, for example, nearly a third of Previous Burning Glass research has
workers advertised a college degree on their explored the types of job transitions
resumes, compared to 19% of workers at that workers make across their careers.7
other 100K food service companies. However, there is a gap in the literature
with respect to the career progressions of
Among the 100,000 Opportunity Initiative youth who are not working and who have
firms studied, young workers with stopped going to school: How and how
limited education and employment often do they earn more money over time,
history cluster in four main career areas. advance professionally, or stay employed in
Nine in 10 of these workers get their start in the same company for a significant length
sales, administrative support, food service, of time? Supporting the career progress of
and transportation. Companies not yet youth who have limited education and who
engaged in 100K or similar coalitions are ripe lack strong work histories is of keen interest
for successful hiring of these workers and to 100K. However, few coalition companies
can become the foundations for hundreds have set goals for themselves in this area.
of thousands of more career starts. As the This research will allow such employers to
economy recovers from the COVID-19 crisis, better understand this terrain and consider
it will be important to see which industries their options.
emerge most forcefully and may be engaged
to seek out opportunity youth to fill their
increasing job openings. Policymakers
7 “When is a Job a Job—And When Can It Launch A Career?”, Sara Labback, Carol Gerwin, and Dan Restuccia.
JFF and Burning Glass Technologies. https://jfforg-prod-prime.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/ResumeDataBook6.pdf
20 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Findings
Burning Glass unearthed the following are typically better paying. Many who
trends of companies hiring young people change occupations move to jobs with
with limited education and work experience a lower average rate of pay than their
into entry-level jobs. initial job.8 Workers may be making these
transitions to benefit in other ways, such as
Many young workers who begin with a more flexible work schedule.
limited work experience and education
advance to better paying jobs and The data reveals three major patterns
make a living wage. Just over half of such of career progression. In an analysis that
young people hired into entry-level work studies where new hires land five years
at the 100K companies studied advance after their first job, the experience of young
from entry-level to better-paying jobs in employees with limited work and education
the first five years—not necessarily at the backgrounds present three quite distinct
same employer, but over the course of profiles:
their employment. Further, after these five
years, 63% of these young workers are in + Leapfrogging – 44% of young workers
occupations paying a living wage, up from in this cohort: These workers progress
39% in their initial job. from their entry-level job into better
paying jobs and can be found in a career
The research also shows that not area different from the one in which
all young workers in this cohort will they were first employed. For example,
advance, once hired. Many get stuck at these workers transition from retail to
their initial level of responsibility, at their human resources, or from food service
initial salary, or both. Nearly half of these to health care. After five years these
workers — 48% — have difficulty breaking workers are employed in occupations
out of entry-level work. They may still be that pay on average $25,000 more than
employed, but they are not advancing. their entry-level job. More than four-
In only half of the companies studied do fifths of them – 82% – are in occupations
the majority of young workers with this that typically pay a living wage.
background progress to occupations that
8 According to estimates of compensation by occupation according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 21Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
+ Levelling Up – 8% of the studied young workers within the coalition, or outside it.
workers: These workers progress to Leapfrogging occurs with 48% of studied
better-paying jobs within the career area young workers in companies outside
of their initial entry-level role. That is, a the 100K coalition, compared with 44%
retail worker stays in retail but advances inside 100K companies. Levelling Up
to an occupation with a higher average advancement affects 7% of these young
pay. They are in occupations that workers in companies outside the 100K
typically pay more than $17,500 over coalition, as contrasted with 8% inside it.
what they would have earned in their Spinning Wheels is marginally less likely in
first job; 59% of them are paid a living companies outside the 100K coalition: 45%
wage. That this form of advancement of youth workers studied are stuck in large
is less common than leapfrogging to companies outside the coalition, compared
another career area is indicative of an to 48% within it.
obvious fact about entry-level work:
There are fewer occupations in career Outcomes vary widely, with major
areas like food service and retail that consequences. These three patterns outline
pay a living wage. strongly contrasting trajectories, with
large impacts on the individuals involved.
+ Spinning Wheels – 48% of the young Spinning Wheels has serious economic
workers in the database: These workers consequences, as it severely reduces one’s
are stuck. While they can and do change prospects of making a living wage. Viewed
jobs, they tend either to stay in the through the longer lens of time, the young
same occupation or move to one that worker who spins her wheels experiences
is typically lower-paying. They are in a loss of between $17,000 and $25,000 in
occupations that on average pay no annual earnings by the fifth year: This adds
more than their initial job, and only 41% up to a cumulative loss of tens of thousands
of them earn a living wage. of dollars in the early years, and hundreds
of thousands over the span of career.
Critically, these trends and trajectories The disparity of these outcomes is acute
are universal, and not confined to the and affects many: While Levelling-Up and
companies studied. The data show Leapfrogging clearly lead to professional
little difference in the experiences of advancement, increased earnings, and an
22 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Findings
improved prospect of earning a living wage, meaningful employment for young workers.
these transitions occur for only half of youth Where are the inflection points in skill
who enter entry-level roles with limited acquisition that enable workers to leapfrog
education and work experience. As we to better work? What internal career
consider ways to protect businesses from pathways should employers develop to
closure and stimulate economic activity to advance workers, and on what timetable?
drive economic recovery, special attention What modest investments in mentoring,
to younger workers is warranted in order to guidance, and skills development will yield
head-off the near-term earnings stagnation outsized benefits in the form of increased
that leads to long-term wage suppression. employee loyalty and value? Consistent
employment for nearly a year and a half is
The average tenure listed on the better than spells of unemployment, but
professional resumes of young people both employers and workers benefit from
with limited educational and work deliberate role architecture.
experience who got their start at 100K
employers was 17 months. This number is There are a variety of jobs that young
exceeded by multiple 100,000 Opportunities workers with limited education and
Initiative companies: Food Service and work experience tend to take when
Financial Service firms are among those they advance. When these young workers
retaining these employees at rates greater transition out of entry-level work, they
than national averages. While job retention do so most frequently by taking on roles
is important for both the employee and as managers or supervisors. Some also
the employer, it is not clear whether transition to jobs as computer user support
these workers are experiencing greater specialists, nursing assistants, and office
benefit from retention, or whether they clerks – all roles that may become more
have stagnated in their career experience accessible by virtue of them developing
and are missing out on opportunities for work habits and career experiences
advancement into better jobs with better generally, but that are outside of the
wages and schedules. industries and career areas that characterize
their first jobs. While the future of work
Additional research is necessary to in physical offices is uncertain, demand
determine the characteristics that constitute for nursing assistants and computer
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 23Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
user support specialists have remained campaigns can expand the use of best
strong, even throughout the pandemic. practices in youth employment.
By highlighting these next steps for young
workers and supporting associated skills Expanding the Frontier of
development and credentialing, we can Employer Engagement with
reveal viable pathways that may not be Young Workers
intuitive but are nonetheless common and
accessible even without major investments Burning Glass and the Schultz Family
in postsecondary education. Foundation were also curious to understand
the wider context of demand for entry-
Public policy decisions facing the level workers. How many open positions
incoming administration will be critical are there for workers with limited work
to supporting economic recovery and and educational experience? In which
young people’s place in it. Policy levers industries are these openings concentrated?
such as regulations or incentives can be What might an employer coalition in these
applied to support the advancement of industries look like?
entry-level employees. Incentives can be
designed to spur investment in employer- There is substantial unmet demand for
led workforce training and development. entry-level work, and young workers with
Worker protections can be developed to limited work and education experience
facilitate employee transitions between could supply that work. Burning Glass
firms. Reporting standards can evolve to explored its database of over one billion
require companies to report on the working current and historical job postings to
conditions and career outcomes of their investigate how employers from industries
entry-level workforce. Federal, state, and can engage this population. The labor
local governments can prioritize hiring market for such workers is large: Since
opportunity youth, and they can encode 2018, there have been over 7 million online
such a priority in spending bills, public job postings looking for workers with no
works projects, and infrastructure projects. more than high school education and less
Publicly-funded job training programs can than five years of work experience. The
require that opportunity youth to be among 100,000 Opportunity Initiative now has
the key participants. Finally, education a visible presence in the labor market, as
24 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Findings
an entity: Coalition companies account The technology sector may be well-
for nearly 200,000 of those openings. The positioned to increase its hiring of youth
abundance of positions to fill — even taking with lower educational attainment and work
into account COVID’s economic effects — experience. In the tech sector, Fiserv has
warrants substantial investment in youth posted approximately 7,800 online job ads
workforce engagement, preparation, and for entry-level workers since 2018, and NCR
on-the-job training for these roles. has posted 1,600. These workers would be in
computer or computer support occupations
The companies studied are clustered in and would therefore have both a higher floor
retail. There is good reason to believe and a higher ceiling within their career area
that companies in other sectors may than workers who get their start in retail or
also find value in engaging young food service. Intentional career awareness
workers. In reflecting on the work of the and retraining efforts aimed at youth in
100K Opportunity Initiative, a recent report entry-level food, retail, and hospitality roles
observed, “Beyond resetting employer can highlight existing examples of transition
expectations, 100K should look to diversify between these seemingly dissimilar roles,
the types and sizes of employers. The kinds and identify training options that facilitate
of jobs offered to an opportunity youth these positive transitions.
should include a wider mix of industries,
particularly those with entry-level jobs Quality opportunities may also be available at
projected to grow in the future….”.9 companies in the health care and insurance
Customer service skills developed in entry- sectors. In health care and insurance, there
level retail roles can be applied in other are a range of employers looking for entry-
sectors where retention, advancement, and level workers, from diagnostic laboratories,
wage gain may be more likely. Non-retail to hospitals, to assisted living facilities. United
sectors ought to consider targeted programs Healthcare, a large health care insurer, has
such as the 100K initiative. Expansion of posted approximately 21,000 entry-level
investments in public health, infrastructure, jobs online since 2018. Quest Diagnostics, a
and digital communications like those being clinical laboratory, has posted 8,500 job ads
considered to stimulate the economy can for entry-level workers.
offer a wide range of work and learning
options for youth.
9 “Looking to the Future: Assessing Success & Charting A Path Forward” (Panorama, 2019)
http://www.100kopportunities.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/100KLookingToTheFuture.pdf
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 25Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
However, the skills necessary for entry-level on the 100K Initiative, the challenge was
roles in computer occupations or jobs in articulated in this way: “[T]he overall quality
health care and insurance differ from those of the work experience should be enhanced
needed in traditional entry-level jobs in by offering more employment opportunities
food service and retail. Specialized training to youth that provide in-demand skills, lead
for these other skills can help open even to credentials, have the potential for upward
more opportunities for entry-level work in mobility. For all positions, employers should
these fields. define a core set of skills that an employee
would attain within a reasonable amount of
As the economy emerges from the COVID-19 time, to facilitate a transition into higher-pay
crisis, the opportunity landscape will likely jobs.”10 Advocates can promote such efforts
look different than it did before. Continued to retain and develop talent as benefits to
review of entry-level roles and their companies’ bottom lines, reducing the cost
qualifications will inform which are most of employee churn, external recruitment,
accessible and beneficial to opportunity youth. and onboarding.
And as the incoming federal administration
examines how to most effectively spur Rather than viewing entry-level jobs in
economic recovery, engagement and job isolation, both young employees and
placement of opportunity youth can be a employers need to understand them in the
key public investment. context of career paths and cumulative skills.
Entry-level skills are not limited to entry-
The marketplace rewards a very specific level roles, but can be applied as employees
set of skills that employers can seek to develop and prepare for next steps. Any by
develop in young employees who have adding skills that are especially valued by
limited work and educational experience. employers, those workers can increase their
The employers hiring these workers marketability and command larger wages.
can work to clarify their expectations of
employees, identify ways they can build Such an approach would benefit from the
skills, and hold themselves accountable for data below, which captures core skills and
ensuring that all employees are challenged skills with salary premia in two sectors: retail
to grow professionally. In a recent report trade and accommodation and food service.
10 Ibid.
26 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Findings
Sharing this data with
Retail Trade young workers who bring
limited work and education
Office and experience, both before
Sales
Administrative Support
and after they are hired
can reveal opportunities
Core Skills Skills with Skills with
Core Skills
Salary Premia Salary Premia
and encourage them to
move forward. Companies
Retail Industry Business Office
Customer Service
Knowledge Administration Management
240,939 postings $49,100
48,565 postings
$42,786 that offer supports such
as coaching and tuition
Sales
People
Management
Retail Industry
Knowledge
Client Needs
Assessment
assistance, can help young
217,473 postings
$46,000 37,881 postings $40,576
workers to take advantage
of learning opportunities
Financial Communication Customer
Customer Service
171,012 postings
Reporting
$45,914
Skills
36,844 postings
Retention
$38,505
and move more intentionally
toward self-sufficiency and
career success.
Accommodation and Food Services
Food Preparation and Management
Serving Occupations Occupations
Core Skills Skills with Core Skills Skills with
Salary Premia Salary Premia
Communication Restaurant Budget
Costing
Skills Management Forecasting
$47,833
43,584 postings 50,338 postings $68,827
Performance
Cooking Scheduling Closing Sales
Appraisals
38,158 postings 31,792 postings $66,694
$42,503
Project
Customer Service Purchasing Guest Services
Management
28,532 postings $42,136 27,718 postings
$56,789
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 27Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers 5. Implications and Conclusion 28 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021
Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Implications and Conclusion
Several themes emerge from this analysis. + Companies can explore how more
engaged supervision and mentoring,
+ Despite changes to our economy that career pathway mapping between roles,
have occurred over the last decades, company-sponsored training and tuition
there remain large pockets of work assistance can all be career accelerants
opportunity for those without vast work and can, especially when applied at the
or academic experience. entry-level, address historic inequities.
Intermediaries can help facilitate
+ While many young, entry-level workers sharing these practices and encouraging
achieve mobility early in their working their wider use.
life, far too many are unable to parlay
their first jobs into career-launching + Public sector workforce development
experiences. programs can have positive impacts,
even after initial job placement.
+ Companies can take affirmative steps to Programs can offer training and support
support career mobility and economic for individuals stuck in “spinning
advancement for those without work wheels,” so they too can advance even
experience or high levels of academic in the absence of specific assistance
achievement. Engagement in coalitions from their employers.
like 100K is a first step provide a
venue for affirming a commitment to + Post COVID-19 economic recovery
the outcomes, tracking progress and will look different, and therefore the
sharing best practices. type and range of opportunities for
opportunity youth will evolve. 100K
+ A wide range of companies that have and similar firms may change hiring
entry-level opportunities are not yet practices or rethink their workforce to
engaged in 100K or other efforts to address health concerns and otherwise
intentionally engage and support survive in a changed economic
opportunity youth. Small behavior environment. Stakeholders will need
changes among these kinds of firms to see where opportunity youth are
can yield substantial benefits for working in a post-COVID environment,
opportunity youth. and direct youth accordingly.
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 29Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
+ Many entry-level roles are likely to year period. These workers were least
face risk of automation in the coming likely to earn a living wage. They are a large
years, and remote work is likely to body of workers for whom prospects for
become more prevalent. To help advancement, development, and a future of
opportunity youth adapt to these economic opportunity are not clear.
changing conditions, technology access
and technology literacy will become It is also important to note that many who
increasingly important. are not advancing professionally or making
additional salary are still employed, often
Large numbers of youth with limited over an extended period of time, in a way
education and work experience were that is not always typical for youth who have
hired into entry-level roles studied. Many struggled in school and prior employment.
have benefitted substantially in salary, in For this reason, while this situation is not
professional advancement, and in access to an ideal outcome, is it not a failure. It can
a living wage. Importantly, the companies be built upon. The challenge is the scale of
we examined fill their entry-level roles with the problem – this is a condition that affects
youth who have limited work and education hundreds of thousands of young workers
experience much more often than peer and their companies.
companies. Learning more about how these
successes have been achieved is certainly Additional data should be collected and
worthwhile and can help other employers shared on the employment of young
adopt behaviors that similarly benefit workers, especially those with limited
young workers. education and workforce experience.
Data on employment, advancement, and
At the same time, not all effects on workers wage gain is often impossible to parse by
with limited education and work experience occupation, industry, and firm. Without
have been so powerful. Many such workers, such data, however, it is nearly impossible
inside coalition companies and elsewhere, to secure effective comparisons between
continue to struggle. Nearly half of these companies. Data from online job postings
young employees working in coalition and online resumes can provide meaningful
companies experienced no gains in salary comparisons, but these data do not reflect
or professional responsibility over a five- all firm-level labor market transactions.
30 © Burning Glass Technologies 2021Burning Glass Technologies / Schultz Family Foundation Implications and Conclusion
Companies that promote from within can + Beyond a focus on hiring, can 100K and
more accurately examine how those positive other companies or employer coalitions
transitions are occurring, what company also direct their attention to advancement,
practices support employee development, wage gain, and career transition?
and what resources enable learning,
mentoring, and advancement. Such practices, + How can those workers who are
if shared more widely and scaled across Spinning Wheels be engaged and
companies, can further accelerate movement supported by their companies to change
from entry-level roles into better careers. the course of their work trajectory to
Employer coalitions present a solution, earn more and offer greater value to
by encouraging or requiring data-sharing their employers?
among coalition members. Committing to
public goals and annual reports is a way to + Does the outstanding performance of
add accountability for data collection and those who Leapfrog suggest that this
dissemination of best practices. strategy – of shifting from one career
area or industry to another, in order
Many questions are raised by these to advance one’s career and salary
findings. Some encourage action by – should receive future emphasis or
employers and youth advocates: inquiry? Might there be a strategic
way to encourage and support such
+ What do companies, workers, and Leapfrogging, built into future practices?
advocates do with the insight that Or are those who Leapfrog able to do so
slightly more than half of the studied because of some factors invisible in the
young adults are experiencing resumes, regardless of company policy
substantial advancement, and just and practice?
under half of the same cohort or
workers find themselves in fixed, or This research also highlights gaps in
reduced, circumstances? How might our knowledge about young people
we learn more about the characteristics who have struggled in school and are
that determined each cohort’s path not yet experienced workers. Additional
(or lack thereof)? research should seek to answer the
following questions:
© Burning Glass Technologies 2021 31Burning Glass Technologies / American Student Assistance A Outcomes for Young, Entry-level Workers and their Employers
+ How has the engagement of these + Will employers of those entry-level
young workers affected the practices jobs take necessary precautions to
and functions of companies? protect the health of these more
vulnerable workers?
+ If changes in retention or higher
compensation tend to have effects on + Will increased sensitivity to racial
the company, what are those effects? inequities lead to changes in
recruitment and hiring practices
+ Are practices aimed at engaging and of 100,000 Opportunity Initiative
supporting young workers with limited companies and other employers
work and educational experience also of young, less educated and less-
beneficial to other employees? experienced workers?
+ Will the net number of jobs available + Will the drastic changes in work
to workers without formal education practices brought on by COVID-19
and lesser amounts of work experience drive broader and enduring changes in
remain stable or grow in the COVID-19 how and to what degree non-traditional
era, or are those jobs more likely to work arrangements are tolerated and
decrease in number due to automation even encouraged?
and increased concern about health
risks to colleagues and customers?
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