In the Shadow of the Great Recession: Experiences and Perspectives of
Young Workers
PrintJob Fit
The existing literature suggests a vast majority of young workers appear satisfied in their jobs. However, many young workers have made concessions in the near term, as they forgo traditional work or higher pay in favor of a steady job. A survey by Pew Research Center from early 2012 found that half (49 percent) of young Americans ages 18 to 34 said that they took a job they did not want so that they could pay their bills.25
Job Satisfaction
According to the Survey of Young Workers, 66 percent of respondents are somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with their job arrangements over the past five years (figure 8). The satisfaction of these respondents is attributed to their compensation and their schedule (figure 9). For example, one respondent stated, "my jobs had decent hours, decent pay, and I was never involuntarily unemployed." Another stated, "I got experience that I can utilize in other fields/jobs, and the payment I received helped me get through that certain [sic] time."
Figure 8. Most respondents are satisfied with current job arrangements
Respondent satisfaction with their job arrangement
Figure 9. Job satisfaction is driven by compensation and schedule
In their own words, why respondents are satisfied with their job arrangements (data from unstructured responses)
Thirty-three percent of respondents who have held a job in the past five years reported being dissatisfied with their job arrangements. Again, pay and schedule are the leading reasons for this level of dissatisfaction (figure 10). One respondent said, "Employers didn't pay well enough to survive without taking on another job."
Figure 10. Lack of job satisfaction is driven by compensation and schedule
In their own words, why respondents are dissatisfied with their job arrangements (data from unstructured responses)
Job Attainment
A 2012 study by the Heldrich Center found that job seekers turned to two primary sources to obtain their first jobs. About 60 percent turned to personal connections to help find employment. And the same number turned to the Internet to search formal online job sources, such as Monster or CareerBuilder, or employers' job-site boards. The Heldrich Center found there was much less reliance on college placement offices (less than one in three) and employment agencies or government job centers (16 percent).26
In the Survey of Young Workers, respondents also identify personal connections as a primary source in a job candidate's search process. In the survey, 14 percent of working respondents had a parent who provided the contact information for their current job, and 26 percent of respondents said that networks of friends and other family played a role in finding their current job.
Likewise, in the Survey of Young Workers, employment services do not play a key role in finding a job for the respondents. Despite respondents reporting that teachers and school counselors are a key source of information while in high school and college, only 10 percent of respondents credited school counselors with helping them obtain their current job. Furthermore, young workers do not use employment centers with any great regularity, as 9 percent of respondents with college experience used employment centers in their pursuit of employment and only 8 percent of working respondents credit job centers as the source for landing their current job.
References
25. Richard Fry and Kim Parker (2012), Record Shares of Young Adults Have Finished Both High School and College,Pew Research Center, www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/11/05/record-shares-of-young-adults-have-finished-both-high-school-and-college/ 
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26. Stone and others, Chasing the American Dream. Return to text