Occupational attainment has long been and continues to be a prime concern in sociological inquiry. Socioeconomic standing and prestige ranking are two key aspects of occupational status. Occupational socioeconomic status pertains to the educational requirement for and the monetary rewards to an occupation, whereas occupational prestige describes the entitling properties that bestow deference on the occupants (Hauser & Warren, 1997; Treiman, 1977). While preceding studies has documented substantial college and skill premium in economic returns (Goldin & Katz, 2008), the role of educational attainment and skill acquisition in shaping one's occupational prestige has not been adequately addressed. Indeed, on top of the alarming economic disparity driven by education and skill differentials, the deteriorating social recognition to non-college graduates and the less skilled workers presents a further peril to social solidarity, a point convincingly illustrated by Sandel (2020). Following the conceptual framework developed by Araki (2020, Figure 1), the present study seeks to understand how educational credentials and skill levels are associated with one's attained prestige in the labor market by considering one's relative position in the joint distribution of educational attainment and skill acquisition using data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). The findings indicate that both educational credentials and skill level contribute to attained prestige in the labor market, that credential premium prevails over skill premium, and that skill premium increases as higher education expands.

Authors:
Si Man Lam, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Si Man LAM is doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on social and organizational contexts of schooling and sociology of education.

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