Sex, Crime, Drugs, and Just Plain Stupid Behaviors by Christopher Salvatore

Author:Christopher Salvatore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

We know that more education will make us more money, at least eventually. I can say from my own experience, having worked since I was in grade school I make more money at this point in my life (having earned four college degrees) than I did at my first full-time job, although this doesn’t mean I am by any means wealthy, rich, or live a life of luxury—far from it! However, compared to the restaurant job I had in high school and college I make significantly more money with my education than I probably could have done without an education. It’s important to note that my road through higher education took thirteen years. Getting through a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree, then a PhD took a lot of time and money—and that didn’t even count finding the ‘right’ job, a challenge many in emerging adulthood struggle with.

As we have discussed, many young people explore and experiment in many areas, including sexuality, substance use, education , and employment (Arnett , 2000, 2004, 2015). Some like Arnett see this as a benefit, allowing young people to transition into adulthood having felt that they have had enough time to experiment and experience and therefore they will be ‘settled’ and ready to commit to an adult lifestyle. However, for others, the constant shifting of jobs and the search to turn degrees into fulfilling jobs and careers has its downside (Maxell , 2006; Tannock , 2001). Gaps in employment and frequent job changes can have significant negative consequences for lifetime earnings (Burgess, Propper, Ress, & Shearer , 2003; Gregg & Tominey , 2005; Krahn, Howard, & Galambos , 2015).

‘Churning’ is a term used by labor market economists that refers to frequently changing jobs or moving from employment to unemployment (Burgess, Lane, & Stevens, 2001; Krahn et al., 2015). As we have explored, churning is common in emerging adult populations as they experiment with their identities, trying on jobs like prior generations would have tried on clothes. Some scholars such as Marquardt (1998) and Osterman (1980) have suggested that churning can lead to floundering, a negative long-term employment outcome that leads to lower long-term wages due to the lack of perceived stability in employment (Krahn et al., 2015, p. 247). The potential long-term negative effects of identity exploration through employment may be issues that emerging adults will face down the road as they reach the mid and end points of their careers. Emerging adults may need to reconsider or perhaps restrict this area of identity exploration unless they are willing to sacrifice their income later in life.

In sum, marriage , parenthood , education , and employment are areas that have experienced radical changes over the last fifty to sixty years. Some of these changes have led to the genesis of emerging adulthood as a distinct stage of the life course; others are experienced by emerging adults more than prior generations. We have now seen several generations of emerging adults. Each has faced a changing labor market, the commodification of higher education, and delayed marriage and parenthood.

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