Happening tomorrow! Register here: go.rutgers.edu/majortradeoffs or on the QR code on the flyer. It should be a great conversation, and there will be plenty of time for Q & A!

It’s not hyperbole to say you might learn exactly what this article argues in an Intro Soc class, and yet it's pitched as a novel contribution of an Ivy league economist

What an Ivy League Education Really Gets You Economists have a new theory of why graduates of top colleges have so much career success.

Economist discovers secondary socialization and habitus, gets a write-up in The Atlantic.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

t.co/fdBeVUXFXs

Check out my new article in the Review of Higher Education! Based on the incongruity between which college graduates use skills at work and which have good employment conditions, I advance a framework for the college-to-work transition that considers majors as unique sites of cultural value. Link 👇

How Can Higher Education Signal Relevance in a Skills-Focused World? To send clearer signals about the skills it develops, higher education can incorporate microcredentials, map skills across the curriculum, and expand work-based learning.

workshift.org/how-can-high...

We know higher education prepares students well for the workforce, but there's a sticky cultural narrative that suggests it doesn't. Check out my blog post with Kyle Albert, where we discuss strategies universities can use to further signal their skill relevance to society. Link 👇

white background, author meets critic, book cover center titled major trade-offs, sunday, march 8 at 9:30am

At #ESS2026? Don't miss a chance to meet Corey Moss-Pech and discuss Major Trade-Offs, an eye-opening look at the relationship between students’ majors and their entry-level jobs, today at 9:30am. Learn more about the book here: bit.ly/UCPEXESS #ESS2026

It's always a blast doing events for my book. Here I am presenting at the Labor Studies and Employment Relations department at Rutgers. Next stop, ESS in DC. If you're attending the conference this weekend, stop by and say hello, and/or come see my book’s AMC session this Sunday at 9:30.

Interesting this doesn't apply to the state's two public R1s. A further example of the increasingly bleak bifurcation of higher ed in the US into the haves and have-nots.

Ooof...not good

Ed tech is profitable. It is also mostly useless Independent research identifies few learning gains

This is unfortunately, unsurprising. From my perspective, the best advances in education technology are those that broaden access to traditional learning (e.g., an online course that can best replicate an in-person course). There's just no substitute for traditional old-school learning.

Major Trade-Offs An eye-opening look at the relationship between students’ majors and their entry-level jobs. Humanities majors are used to answering the question, “So, what are you going to do with that degree?” The ...

Next was "Major Trade-Offs" by @cmpech.bsky.social, who uses deep qualitative research to crack the foundations of economic skills dogma, showing technical college majors rarely use their acquired skills in their first jobs. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (3/5)

The endless dismissal of bad behavior in the name of “being an adult” or “focusing on the things that matter” has become a powerful force enabling Trump. It’s conflict aversion, masquerading as seriousness. Nothing is a distraction, go after all of it.

Are Practical Majors Just Better at Cultural Signaling Than Skill Building? - with Dr. Corey Moss-Pech, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Florida State University Are Practical Majors Just Better at Cultural Signaling Than Skill Building? - with Dr. Corey Moss-Pech, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Florida State University page for EdUp Experience

Being on the EdUp Experience podcast was a blast! If you’re interested in college majors, early careers, and how AI is impacting entry-level hiring/work, check it out!

www.edupexperience.com/coreymossper...

They even say their goal is to reduce tenure density and hire more lecturers. Yikes!

Opinion | Why Flagships Are Winning Battered by decades of disruption, they are now more frugal and more resilient than elite privates.

"The lesson of our century so far is clear. After a decade book-ended by a once-in-a-generation financial crisis and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, flagships proved unusually disciplined at solving for both access and excellence."

I’m hiring a postdoc! Flexible in terms of details, but I’m looking for someone to collaborate with on research about labor market inequality. I’ll review applications as they come in and the posting just went up here:
apply.interfolio.com/178873

I'll take any excuse to share this article by Gary Shteyngart on the last iteration of Google Glass. I used to require it for my intro students when we covered technology. Unfortunately, it's now too old to be in rotation. It's a great article though!

www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

University to cut or pause 23 programs next fall amid restructuring - The New School Free Press This story was updated on Dec. 4 at 5:45 p.m. More than 20 academic programs will be cut or paused next year, according to information shared with faculty in an email from the provost’s office sent No...

The New School is ending its BA in Sociology and has paused PhD admissions. When I got my MA there in 2013, it was such an intellectually vibrant place, and without that experience, there is a 0% chance I'd be a professor today—such a shame.
www.newschoolfreepress.com/2025/11/26/u...

EdTech research consistently shows that students learn better with pen and paper. This semester I have a no laptop policy in my graduate theory seminar, and I have to say it’s been a complete and total success. Highly recommend.

This is a good thread, but it's important to remember the Roberts court is radically pro-business and always has been. Throughout Roberts' tenure, there's been the occasional "moderate" opinion, but as far as I know, that's never been the case over economic questions.

My article in the Review of Higher Education is live! I show highly "employable" majors pay off for graduates even in the absence of technical skill use. As a result, I advance a conceptual framework that views majors as unique sites of cultural value. Check it out!

muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

Great article on how the AI bubble is just the latest ed tech grift that's part of a "broader effort to snatch away decision-making power over teaching, learning, and research from subject matter and pedagogy experts and give it to donors and administrators."

FSU is hiring 2 APs in spatial data science! Open to any social science discipline, including sociology. This makes at least 5 faculty jobs at FSU this year open to Soc PhDs. Consider applying if you do spatial research! (ad says Geography, but it's open field)

jobs.omni.fsu.edu/psc/sprdhr_e...

The Truth About College Majors Podcast Episode · Ready Living Podcast · 10/07/2025 · 28m

I had a great time chatting with Andrea Weckerle on The Ready Living podcast about my new book, Major Trade-Offs, and the value of college majors. Check it out if you're interested!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Most trans folks live in the South. #SOGIdata #transdemography

A day late, but in honor of Labor Day, I want to recognize UFF, our incredible union here at FSU. I am thrilled to be part of a unionized faculty, it’s b/c of UFF that the material conditions of my employment are so exceptional. None of it would be possible without labor. Solidarity forever!

The Surprising Truth About Which College Majors Are Actually Useful at Work A sociologist studied how students get internships and jobs, and who really uses their degrees.

I had a blast chatting with Dan Berrett about Major Trade-Offs, and I'm so glad he posted our conversation on
@chronicle.com. If you're interested in the relationship between college majors, internships, and entry-level jobs, check it out!

www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...

Studying philosophy does make people better thinkers, according to new research on more than 600,000 college grads Philosophers are fond of saying that their field boosts critical thinking. Two of them decided to put that claim to the test.

In my book I argue that liberal arts skills *are* employable skills. Hopefully, more studies like the one below can help us shift the harmful and inaccurate narrative that only technical/vocational majors prepare students for the workforce.

theconversation.com/studying-phi...