Does it Pay to Play? A Study of the Employability of Student Athletes

Authors

Davis Elkins, The College of WoosterFollow

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine the effect playing a sport at the College of Wooster has on an individual’s success in the job market. I hypothesize that due to a higher level of productivity, student-athletes at the College of Wooster have greater success in the job market compared to non-student athletes. After surveying over 600 College of Wooster alumni, I use an OLS regression to test the effect playing a sport has on an individual’s first and current salary, as well as the length it took the individual to obtain employment. The findings show that student-athletes earn a higher salary than non-student-athletes; yet the results regarding the time it took to find employment were insignificant.

Advisor

Mellizo, Philip

Department

Economics

Recommended Citation

Elkins, Davis, "Does it Pay to Play? A Study of the Employability of Student Athletes" (2017). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 7667.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/7667

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations

Keywords

Student-athletes, collegiate athletics, athletics, human capital

Publication Date

2017

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis