Balancing Work and Learning: Implications for Low-Income Students finds that while working and studying generally helps students from higher-income families, low-income students face steeper challenges when combining work and college.

1. Balancing Work and
Learning:
Implications for Low-Income Students
August 28, 2018
By: Anthony P. Carnevale and Nicole Smith

2. Overview
• Of the 20 million students in college, 14 million work while enrolled.
• 6 million of the 14 million working learners are low income.
• While working and attending college is largely beneficial for higher-
income students, low-income working learners face steeper challenges.
• Unequal access to support mechanisms and financial safety nets
exacerbates these challenges.

3. 43 percent of working learners are low-income
• Low-income working learners
are disproportionately Black
(18%) and Latino (25%), women
(58%), and first-generation
college-goers (47%).
• Higher-income working learners
are disproportionately White
(73%) and young adults (70%).
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce analysis of
data from US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2012; and US Census Bureau, American
Community Survey, 2012–2015 (pooled data); see Appendix for full list of sources for
all figures.

4. The number of hours worked affects
student outcomes
• The likelihood of good grades and
completion decreases as the number of
hours worked each week increases.
• Low-income students tend to work longer
hours than higher-income students.
• 60 percent of low-income working
learners who work more than 15 hours per
week earn grades of C or lower.
• 65 percent of higher-income working
learners who work less than 15 hours per
week earn grades of B or higher.
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce analysis of data from US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Postsecondary
Student Aid Study (NPSAS), 2012.

5. • Higher-income working learners have access to more lucrative jobs related
to their fields of study.
• 14 percent of higher-income working learners work in professional fields
such as STEM, business, or healthcare, compared to only 6 percent of low-
income students.
• Low-income working learners are more likely to work in food service,
sales, and administrative support jobs.
Higher-income working learners are more likely
to work in jobs tied to their fields of study

6. Completion rates are substantially lower among
low-income working learners
• Only 22 percent of low-income working
learners complete a bachelor’s degree
within six years, compared to 37 percent of
higher-income working learners.
• 57 percent of low-income working
learners fail to earn a credential within six
years, compared to 46 percent of higher-
income working learners.
• Low-income working learners are less
likely to earn a credential overall, even if
they come from the upper end of the
academic performance distribution. Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce analysis of data from
US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Beginning Postsecondary
Students Longitudinal Study, 2004/2009; see Appendix for full list of sources for all figures.

7. Enrollment differences exist among
working learners
• Higher-income working
learners are more likely to
enroll in bachelor’s degree
programs and to attend
selective four-year institutions.
• Low-income working learners
are more likely to enroll in
certificate programs and attend
either two-year public or for-
profit colleges.
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce analysis of data
from US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National
Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), 2012; see Appendix for full list of sources for all
figures.

8. Conclusion
• Education leaders should focus on building stronger connections between
education and work beginning in K–12.
• Colleges should provide working learners with financial literacy counseling
and internships in high-demand fields related to their studies.

9. For more information:
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See the full report at: cew.georgetown.edu/LearnAndEarn