This report examines 16 student characteristics and their association with earnings 10 years after high school. After controlling for academic and labor force experience and background characteristics, a baccalaureate or associates degree contributed significantly to earnings while some college credits with no degree attainment did not. The findings further suggest that college curriculum and student academic performance as well as early labor force experience figure prominently in the earnings of young adults as well. While the findings reaffirm the importance of education as a vehicle of social mobility, the direct and indirect effects of family and demographic background still constitute dominant factors in the formation of an individual's earning capacity.
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