The Accidental Equalizer

Reviews / Votes

"Based on hundreds of interviews with business school graduates and the employers that subsequently hired them, Streib's book ultimately argues that college is not, in itself, the great equalizer; the impossible-to-navigate job market is." * Inside Higher Education * "[Streib] examines an important segment of the labor market that gets relatively little attention: entry-level positions for midtier jobs . . . Far too much energy and ink are spent on who gets the most elite jobs, who goes to the most elite schools and how terribly unfair the whole process is. Little of that conversation describes the reality for most Americans. The role of the good-but-not-elite college affects far more people and gives us much more insight into the state of economic mobility than Ivy League statistics." * Wall Street Journal * "One of the biggest myths out there is that the job market, unlike other spheres of life, rewards merit. But it largely rewards luck. Most employers in large mid-tier markets are not seeking excellence. They just want reliable people who can do the job. And that is, in many ways, a good thing, argues sociologist Jessi Streib." * Los Angeles Review of Books * "A thought-provoking exploration of how various factors (often beyond one's control) influence career trajectories and financial outcomes. . . An insightful analysis of the role of luck in career outcomes." * School Administrator * "An in-depth analysis of a key mechanism explaining why we observe social origin equalization for early labor market outcomes among college graduates." * American Journal of Sociology * "The book is packed with sociological thinking rather than sociological theories and concepts. It is well written and should provide undergraduates with many insights about all career phases, from the job search to the separation. Undergraduates will have many of their assumptions challenged, especially that inequalities at work may not be based on connections, skills, information, or knowledge, but on luck. 'Luckocracy' may be difficult to face. However, Streib makes a compelling argument that luck plays a larger role in decision-making than students have been taught to believe." * Choice * "That working-class students from state universities do just as well in the job market as better-off students is a remarkable outcome. Even more surprising is that the equalization is actually driven by hiring practices that are so opaque that the graduates are basically flipping coins trying to get hired. Streib's findings are enormously important for the 80% of all college students who attend those universities and the rocky start it gives their career." -- Peter Cappelli, author of 'Will College Pay Off?: A Guide to the Most Important Financial Decision You'll Ever Make' "Do children born into rich families always make more money than their less privileged counterparts? No! Streib shows that the market for college graduates is a booming-buzzing confusion of idiosyncratic standards, misinformation, and rushed decision-making-all of which undermine the iron law that 'class matters.' A striking demonstration that illicit advantage can be countered, provided that one's willing to infuse the market with lots of noise, luck, and chaos." -- David B. Grusky, coeditor of 'Inequality in the 21st Century: A Reader' "We now know that a college education can limit inequalities related to class origin, but very few scholars have tried to explain why. Streib's engaging, provocative account seeks to answer this question. Rare is the book that challenges well-established beliefs shared by academics and policymakers. This one delivers." -- Jake Rosenfeld, author of 'You're Paid What You're Worth: And Other Myths of the Modern Economy'