Many people searching for jobs are also searching for upward mobility. But how easy is that to achieve? According to an infographic from Affordable Schools, not as easy as you might think. When it comes to career advancement and economic opportunity, the odds seem stacked against certain groups of people. For example, much of a person's future advancement potential can be determined at birth: 62% of Americans that are born in the top fifth bracket stay in the top two-fifths, while 65% of Americans that are born in the bottom fifth will stay in the bottom two-fifths. This can carry over to the college years, where students from the bottom 50% of income only make up 14% of student populations at the most competitive colleges and universities in America.
There is some room for upward mobility, however, and it can be affected by location. It turns out that the odds for reaching the top fifth when starting from the bottom fifth are higher if a person is from California. The leading cities for upward mobility in California are San Jose, Bakersfield, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. Many other California cities make up the top 20 in regards to location.
Education is also an important factor when it comes to upward mobility, and so is employment-related advancement. Simply asking can be critical for advancement: 46% of people that asked for or negotiated a raise received one and of those 38% got exactly what they expected while 25% got more than they expected.
Interested in learning more about advancement opportunities and the factors that influence them?
Click here to view the full infographic.
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