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tag: Postsecondary Employment Outcomes

Blog Post
February 18, 2026

What Postsecondary Employment Outcomes Data Can Teach States About Workforce Alignment and Public Value

Many states looking to invest in higher education to strengthen workforce pipelines and expand economic mobility lack the data needed to target those investments effectively. The Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset helps close that gap by linking postsecondary education to wage and employment data, illuminating how educational pathways connect to workforce outcomes both within and beyond state borders. With support from the PSEO Coalition, Ithaka S+R used PSEO data from South Carolina to explore three key questions, each of which…
Research Report
February 18, 2026

Beyond the Median: Earnings Dispersion Across Programs in South Carolina

Findings from Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Data

Which academic programs provide consistent economic returns and which leave graduates facing greater uncertainty? This brief uses Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) data to examine earnings dispersion within programs of study in South Carolina. While median earnings are often used to assess program outcomes, they can obscure wide variation among graduates. By analyzing the 25th and 75th percentile earnings, this study highlights which programs provide consistent economic returns and which leave graduates facing greater uncertainty.
Research Report
February 18, 2026

Industry Concentration and Workforce Pathways in South Carolina

Findings from Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Data

Which academic programs lead to clear labor market placement, and which lead to more diffuse or uncertain employment outcomes? This Ithaka S+R report uses South Carolina’s Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) data to examine how graduates from different fields of study are distributed across industries, in collaboration with the PSEO Coalition.
Research Report
February 18, 2026

Rural Graduate Retention and State Workforce Contributions in South Carolina

Findings from Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Data

This Ithaka S+R report uses Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) data to examine how the earnings, employment locations, and contributions to South Carolina’s workforce differ for graduates of rural- and urban-serving institutions in the state. By comparing outcomes for associate and bachelor’s degree graduates, the analysis highlights how the urbanicity of where students study shapes both individual economic trajectories and the extent to which graduates remain employed in South Carolina.
Blog Post
September 19, 2025

Beyond the Barista Myth

Where Liberal Arts Graduates Actually Work

When people discuss the value of a liberal arts degree, one stereotype often emerges: the humanities graduate working at a coffee shop. This trope is widely used, but it does not reflect the evidence. In reality, graduates with liberal arts degrees, as we define them, are employed across nearly every sector of the economy, and in jobs at all levels of earnings.