Full Citation

Title: Earnings Dynamics, Changing Job Skills, and STEM Careers

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2020

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjaa021

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Abstract: This article studies the impact of changing job skills on career earnings dynamics for college graduates. We measure changes in the skill content of occupations between 2007 and 2019 using detailed job descriptions from a near universe of online job postings. We then develop a simple model where the returns to work experience are a race between on-the-job learning and skill obsolescence. Obsolescence lowers the return to experience, flattening the age-earnings profile in faster-changing careers. We show that the earnings premium for college graduates majoring in technology-intensive subjects such as computer science, engineering, and business declines rapidly, and that these graduates sort out of faster-changing occupations as they gain experience. JEL Codes: J24, I26.

Url: https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/135/4/1965/5858010?login=true

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Authors: Deming, David J; Noray, Kadeem

Periodical (Full): The Quarterly Journal of Economics

Issue: 4

Volume: 135

Pages: 1965-2005

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure

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