The Age of Satisficing? Juggling Work, Education, and Competing Priorities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic continues to shape individuals’ decisions about employment and postsecondary education. The authors leverage data from a longitudinal qualitative study of educational trajectories to examine how individuals responded to the shifting landscape of work and education. In the final wave of interviews with 56 individuals who started their postsecondary education at a community college 6 years ago, the authors found that most respondents described engaging in satisficing behaviors, making trade-offs to maintain their prepandemic trajectories where possible. More than a quarter of individuals, primarily those with access to fewer resources, described trajectories fraught with insecurity; they struggled to juggle competing obligations, especially in the face of an unpredictable labor market. A small portion of participants described making optimizing decisions, which were sometimes risky, to prioritize their aspirations. These descriptive patterns may partially explain mechanisms shaping recent shifts in employment and postsecondary education, including lower labor-market engagement and declines in college enrollment.

The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on college enrollment: How has enrollment in criminal justice programs been affected by the pandemic in comparison to other college programs

“…While this study provides a valuable look at the factors students may have considered regarding enrollment during the pandemic, as we move further out of the height of the pandemic, concern about the pandemic may or may not be as influential in student decision-making. Schudde et al (2022) examined 56 participants involved in a longitudinal study of educational trajectories. The interviews conducted in Fall 2020 were the sixth year of interviews, but did allow for researchers to examine how COVID-19 had impacted the educational trajectories of the participants, all of whom had been enrolled in community college at the first wave of interviews in Fall 2015, with intentions to transfer to a four-year institution.…”