The Geography of Jobs: How Proximity to a Prestige Labor Market Shapes Opportunity for Computer Science Degree Holders

Tiffany Chow
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Tiffany Chow: Department of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9430, USA

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: A computer science degree is seen as a good investment, given the lucrative calling of Silicon Valley and the ever-growing demand for software engineers. Yet, it is unclear whether all computer science degree holders fare equally well on the job market. This study explores how the routing of computer science (CS) students to specific educational geographies plays a major role in determining their career trajectories post-graduation. Using a new survey for recent computer science graduates of three public universities in Texas, I measure labor market outcomes for CS degree holders along three metrics: salary, job location, and job title. Results from 157 respondents show that alumni from universities near a major tech hub are more likely to earn higher wages in desirable job markets compared with graduates from a university located far from a dense tech hub. Although most previous studies have focused on gender and racial disparities within the high-tech industry, I provide a new lens to understand how inequality manifests through geographic segregation and leaves even high-skilled job seekers vulnerable to spatial mismatch between their place of residence and proximity to desirable, elite jobs.

Keywords: race; STEM; inequality; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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