Working Paper: NBER ID: w29605
Authors: Steven W. Hemelt; Brad Hershbein; Shawn M. Martin; Kevin M. Stange
Abstract: We document the skill content of college majors as perceived by employers and expressed in the near universe of U.S. online job ads. Social and organizational skills are general in that they are sought by employers of almost all college majors, whereas other skills are more specialized. In turn, general majors––Business and General Engineering––have skill profiles similar to all majors; Nursing and Education are specialized. These cross-major differences in skill profiles explain considerable wage variation, with little role for within-major differences in skills across areas. College majors can thus be reasonably conceptualized as portable bundles of skills.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I23; I26; J23; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| social and organizational skills are general (L29) | demand for social and organizational skills (J29) |
| general majors—business and general engineering (M49) | broader applicability in the job market (J68) |
| nursing and education (I29) | narrower skill profile (J24) |
| cross-major differences in skill profiles (D29) | implications for wage outcomes (J31) |
| cognitive, financial, and project management skills (G53) | implications for earnings (J31) |