& Finch, 1986; Marsh, 1991; Mihalic & Elliot, 1997; Mortimer et
al., 1996; Warren, LePore, & Mare, 2000; Schoenhals, Tienda, &
Schneider, 1998). Longhours of work in adolescence may ultimately
hinder educational attainment. Carr and colleagues (1996) found
that hours of work per week during high school predict a small
decrement in educational attainment measured at ages twenty-eight
to thirty-one. The duration of work during high school also reduces
boys’ educational attainment. To the extent that adolescent employ-
ment interferes with educational attainment, it could have impor-
tant implications for career opportunities. In their review, however,
Stone and Mortimer (1998) note that exclusive focus on educa-
tional attainment ignores other important routes to building human
capital that may be more attractive for some youth.
Among those who limit their hours, employment may enable
higher levels of educational attainment (Tienda & Ahituv, 1996;
D’Amico, 1984). Examining the “career” of work during the high
school years, Mortimer and Johnson (1998) point to the significance
of long-term working patterns. They found that a “balanced” work
pattern, involving employment of long duration at an intensity of
twenty or fewer hours per week (on the average), was particularly
beneficial to boys. Boys who pursued this pattern of employment dur-
ing high school accumulated more months of postsecondary school-
ing than other boys, including those who had never worked. Students
who learn how to successfully combine work and school appear to
continue this pattern as they move to postsecondary schooling, ulti-
mately achieving higher levels of postsecondary attainment. By their
mid-twenties, they outstrip the initial earnings advantage of youth
who worked at greater intensity (more than twenty hours per week
on the average) during high school (Mortimer, in press).
Not all youth are equally likely to work, nor do they have the
same experiences in the labor force. Adolescents in well-educated,
middle-class families are most likely to be employed (Carr et al., 1996;
Schoenhals, Tienda, & Schneider, 1998). When they do work, youth
from lower-income families are likely to be employed more inten-
sively during high school (Mortimer, in press; Committee on Child
A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 57