From College to Career - The Employment Experiences of

From College to Career examines the lives of poor mothers whocompleted community college degrees and entered the workforceduring a major shift in American social welfare policy. With thepassage of federal welfare reform a lot more attention was focusedon helping low-income mothers enter and make progress in the labormarket. Policies that encouraged education and training as a meansto securing stable employment received less emphasis in this newpolicy environment. Using a combination of data from a survey of acommunity college cohort and interviews with low-income mothers whoreceived public assistance while they were enrolled in college,this study documents the college and employment experiences of 30low-income single mothers who earned associate\'s degrees andentered the workforce. Findings from this study suggest that goodemployment outcomes can only be partially explained by increases informal education. Although higher education plays a key role in theemployment success of low-income mothers, growing up in poverty,leaving high school early, and having few social contacts beyondone\'s family and neighborhood all conspire to restrict a women\'searnings potential.