Do you remember your first job offer? I do. I was elated and anxious, excited about the opportunity but not sure if it was the right choice.
According to the data, first jobs do matter. In a groundbreaking research study by Britebound and the Burning Glass Institute,we researched entry-level roles that don’t require degrees to identify those that provide the greatest opportunities for career advancement, reasonable pay and benefits, and job stability. We call these opportunities “Launchpad Jobs” because they set employees up for career success: pivoting into higher-potential roles using the skills they already have, or returning to school for a degree or certification
In 2023, only nine percent of 18-year-old civilian workers were employed in Launchpad Jobs. That means that more than 90 percent of young adult workers who went straight into work after high school without college started their careers in low-potential jobs. But there are Plan B strategies that these workers can follow that will put them on the path to career success.
How to Make a Career Pivot Without a Degree
Employees in lower-wage jobs can leverage the technical and functional skills they acquire in their entry-level roles to pivot into jobs with more potential. For example, our research found that one in eight nondegree bank tellers move into Loan Officer roles or advance to managerial or supervisory positions within 10 years. As a result, they doubled or tripled their starting salaries.
Across occupations, moving into leadership roles offers substantial opportunities for upward mobility. Take telemarketing. One-third of telemarketers advance to supervisory roles, earning up to 80 percent more than their colleagues who remain in telemarketing or move into customer service roles.
A career pivot is not a fallback for people whose careers went wrong. It is a deliberate strategy, and it follows four steps:
- Identify the skills you are already building: Every entry-level role teaches something transferable. A bank teller learns financial products, compliance and customer relationships. A retail associate learns inventory, scheduling and sales. Those skills are what qualify you for the next role.
- Find out where people in your job actually go: Career paths are more predictable than they feel. Ask a supervisor which roles their team members have moved into, or look at the job histories of people doing the work you want.
- Learn what the next role requires: Some advancement needs a degree. Some needs a certification that takes weeks rather than years. Some needs only internal experience and a manager willing to recommend you.
- Confirm the pivot leads somewhere: A move that raises pay but has no path beyond it is not a pivot. The roles worth pursuing are the ones with promotion rates and pathways behind them, which is what our research set out to identify.
Return to School
While the research tells us that degrees aren’t a prerequisite to success, completing one or earning certifications can open up a world of career opportunities. The data shows that eight percent of workers who did not enroll in college within five years of graduating from high school eventually go on to complete some level of postsecondary training.
Employees in certain entry-level jobs, including cashiers, military enlisted tactical operations and air/weapons specialists, aircraft mechanics and service technicians, electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians, and retail salespeople, are more likely to complete a bachelor’s or associate degree than their peers in other occupations.
Our analysis also showed that employees who return to school after working for a period of time are more likely than traditional, 18-year-old college students to pursue degrees in business or other applied fields, perhaps indicating that career advancement is a greater priority for these individuals. The most popular degrees for returning students include business administration and management, health/health care administration/management, accounting and business, information technology, and project management.
Note that educational pathways to success do not always lead to a four-year degree. Financial considerations, including the high cost of college, the length of the program, and lost wages, make shorter programs more appealing. So, some returning students elect to pursue associate degrees and certifications to gain the skills needed for high-potential computer, nursing, and supervisory roles.
Whether the next step is a credential, a certification or a different role entirely, it helps to know what the options look like first. Britebound's free digital experiences help you explore career paths, identify their strengths, and see what different roles actually involve.
Why a Plan B Matters
Although there are more than 3.5 million Launchpad Job openings listed each year, the unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of 18-year-olds who do not enter college begin their careers in low paying entry-level jobs with little room for advancement and job stability. They can, however, implement a Plan B to get themselves on track. The cost of not doing so compounds: the gap between a high-potential and a low-potential starting role widens over a career rather than closing, which is why acting early matters more than acting perfectly. By leveraging the skills they’ve learned on the job to reroute their careers to high-potential roles or management positions or acquiring degrees or certifications to reboot their careers, they can put themselves on a pathway towards career success.
At a macro level, there is much more that state leaders and educators can do to enable young adults to make better career choices. In my next article, I’ll share recommendations to set our students up for career success.
Read the full report, Launchpad Jobs: Achieving Career and Economic Success Without a Degree.
