For people in their 20s, exploring education options can benefit their later careers, while job instability can be harmful

With economic instability and precarious work on the rise, career paths for young people as they enter adulthood have become increasingly complicated. Can young people still afford to ‘explore’ education and job opportunities in the early stages of their careers? In new research which surveys high schools seniors over 14 years, Nancy Galambos and Harvey Krahn find that fluctuating employment for those in their 20s is associated with poorer earnings later on. Fluctuating educational experiences, on the other hand, have no effect on young people’s eventual career outcomes.