Studienmotivation, Erwerbspartizipation und der Einstieg in den Arbeitsmarkt

Increased student enrollment in public universities has led to a debate on curricula reform with a view to limiting the length of study, particularly by introducing tuition fees for long-time students. It is implicitly assumed in this debate that all students are full-time students. We investigate why and to what extent students participate in the labor market. Furthermore, we study the effects of part-time work on the time it takes to graduate, to find employment and on the level of earnings. We analyze two data sets, first, a survey among students enrolled at the University of Bern conducted during summer 2001 (N = 3360) and secondly, a survey of all university graduates in Switzerland conducted in 2001 (N = 7005). The results show that labor market participation increases the time it takes students to reach graduation. However, labor market experience reduces the time it takes graduates to find employment and increases their earnings by 4 percent if their experience was related to the subject being studied. Labor market participation bearing no relation to university studies has no negative effects on graduate entrance into the labor market. Thus, the study suggests that student participation in the labor market has more beneficial effects than disadvantages. In light of these results curricula reforms should take into account the possibility of gaining labor market experience.