PathTech Mission Statement:
PathTech conducts mixed methods targeted research on educational and employment pathways into advanced technology degree programs and careers in conjunction with high schools, community colleges, and industry. As the need for a skilled technology workforce continues to grow, understanding pathways to and from technician education programs and the technology workforce is vital to sustain workforce development, improve student/worker life chances, and stabilize local economies.
Social science research has long noted that individuals transitioning from school to work often simultaneously experience other life transitions as well. Furthermore, social class, race/ethnicity, gender, geography, and societal norms influence expectations for educational and occupational attainment. This space in which one’s educational and occupational transitions meet with life course transitions shaped by social and cultural forces can be broadly understood as pathways research.