African-American students need to complete two more levels of education to have the same probability of getting a job as their white peers, a new study by Young Invincibles finds.
The researchers looked at data mainly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census, isolating the effects of race and education on unemployment. They found that an African-American male with an associates degree has around the same chance of getting a job as a white male with just a high school diploma. “At every level of education, race impacts a person’s chance of getting a job,” Tom Allison, a research manager and one of the study’s authors, told ThinkProgress.
Quote:
The study attributes the employment gap mainly to hiring discrimination, high incarceration rates for black people, and African Americans’ lack of inherited wealth from past generations due to a long history of discrimination. Less inherited wealth results in low homeownership rates and high deficits among African Americans: While a college-educated white American has an average net worth of $75,000, a college-educated black American has a net worth of less than $17,500.
But maybe there's some third factor? I mean, no doubt race is a big role in this entire thing. But depending on what you major in, people will really hire the most qualified person for the job.
Not trying to be racially insensitive. I'm just hoping there's some other explanation for this because I really don't want to fully believe it. It's too horrible.
This isn't anything surprising. Having a degree doesn't guarantee you a job. There's a lot of social politics involved in getting hired and certain people have advantages.
Unfortunately the best bet for non-whites it to get an engineering or medical degree because you don't need much networking to get jobs in those fields, they're in high demand and not many are getting them so it's hard to deny people with those degrees. But it's not like everyone's calling is in those fields.
If you have a great resume job interviews come rolling in like crazy. Then its just a matter of impressing the recruiters. It's not hard to get a job. When I was fired, I got hired by another company the following Monday. And then when I left that job, I sent out 10 applications per day and got about 6 interviews, and once they converted into job offers I got to choose which one was the most attractive.
I would say the most important thing is to work while you are in college. Do your best to find a good job that fits with your school schedule and hold on to it for over a year if you can. That's what I did, and job hunting became SO much easier because by the time I graduated I had my degree, work experience, transferable skills, and I knew how to pass my interviews because I went to get proper training. My current role pays $25 dollars per hour base wage with the opportunity to jump to a $70k salary package over time.
I don't even have a degree in engineering. It was my hobby. I thought I should have fun while working so I tried to get an engineering job. I'm black. I've worked at several house hold names.
dont let this discourage you