From the Founder: Self-Reflection Drives FGP Research
I have always been curious and drawn to research. The idea of generating new knowledge sounded like an exciting prospect. However, a PhD felt out of reach for me. First, it was financially prohibitive. True to my working-class roots, I got my first job when I was twelve, delivering newspapers, and worked through high school and college. Working as a Rite Aid cashier in high school meant I could pay for more college applications than my parents could afford. Working three jobs in college – as a resident assistant, a server at a pizza shop, and a stringer for one of Pennsylvania’s largest newspapers covering Penn State while I was a student there – funded my grocery budget and the purchase of professional attire as I pursued reporting and editing internships up and down the East Coast. Work was always a necessity, and once I received my bachelor’s degree, a credential that generated a starting salary that almost exceeded my parents’ combined annual wages, not making a salary was a notion I found hard to entertain.
The second and even more significant barrier to pursuing a doctoral degree was becoming paralyzed when trying to discern what earning a doctorate entailed. In my mid-twenties, I briefly entertained applying to PhD programs in communications. My key learnings from this experience: One, it’s hard to get the information you need when you don’t know what questions to ask, and two, when pursuing postgraduate education (or anything, for that matter) sounds infeasible financially, the thought of that impracticality alone snubs out the prospect immediately.
My need to learn and challenge myself was met through a one-year master’s program in education. Yes, I forewent my salary and drained all my savings for this experience, and I have never regretted the decisions to do such. Investing in myself, my curiosity, and my need to explore led to a life-changing year at the Harvard Graduate School of Education that ignited an intellectual vigor of which I had no idea I possessed. I never saw Harvard coming. And I haven’t looked back since.
These days, I am applying that energy toward examining the experiences of First-Generation Professionals (FGPs) in the workplace to help companies identify how they can best support these employees in order to improve their retention rates and fill their leadership pipelines.
Specifically, we’re conducting a mix-method research study directed at two groups of FGPs: those who are one to three years into their careers and those who have at least fifteen years of work experience. Research on the former group will clarify how companies can invest in FGPs in various phases of the employee experience to keep these employees from derailing and help them stay engaged. Findings on the latter group will identify what worked to keep these employees committed and motivated.
While the ambition of this project appears to be innovative and groundbreaking, it’s my personal belief that FGPs represent some of the grittiest and most determined individuals among us, and I would say I am true to type in that regard. Leading this study has only amplified my need to tell the FGP story. I feel like I’m back to my newspaper days, pursuing a scoop, except this time my medium is not just the written word, but also research methods that I felt were reserved for a class of scholars whose company I thought I would never join. As the person who is looking to write the book on FGPs, I can authoritatively advise that one would be wise not to count any FGP out of anything they wish to pursue. This latest venture is reminding me to apply that truth to myself.
Interested in participating in the study? Comment below and we’ll send you the survey.
Investing in the development of FGPs pays off big time.
Resources
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"First-generation college students earn less than graduates whose parents went to college." ABC News, 14 May 2023. https://www.abc27.com/national/first-generation-college-students-earn-less-than-graduates-whose-parents-went-to-college/2
"First-Generation College Graduates Lag Behind Their Peers on Key Economic Outcomes." Pew Research Center, 18 May 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/05/18/first-generation-college-graduates-lag-behind-their-peers-on-key-economic-outcomes/3
"First-generation college students earn less than graduates whose parents went to college." ABC News, 14 May 2023. https://www.abc27.com/national/first-generation-college-students-earn-less-than-graduates-whose-parents-went-to-college/4
"First-Generation College Grads Face More Hurdles in the Job Market." Wired, 24 February 2021. https://www.wired.com/story/first-generation-college-grads-hurdles-job-market/5
"Hiding in Plain Sight: First-Generation Professionals." Boston Consulting Group, April 2023. https://web-assets.bcg.com/49/9c/184a60f14ed9b17f8fabfd7c9d6c/hiding-in-plain-sight-first-generation-professionals-bcg-study.pdf6
"Qualitative Research on Barriers to Workplace Inclusion for First-Generation Professionals." Center for Behavioral Science Methods Research and Methodology Directorate, Issued 1 May 2019. https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2019-07/Qualitative%20Research%20on%20Barriers%20to%20Workplace%20Inclusion.pdf7
"First-gen leaders and professionals, it’s not your fault you feel like a fraud." Fast Company, 19 August 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90779662/first-gen-leaders-and-professionals-its-not-your-fault-you-feel-like-a-fraud8
"Qualitative Research on Barriers to Workplace Inclusion for First-Generation Professionals." Center for Behavioral Science Methods Research and Methodology Directorate, Issued 1 May 2019. https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2019-07/Qualitative%20Research%20on%20Barriers%20to%20Workplace%20Inclusion.pdf9
"Hiding in Plain Sight: First-Generation Professionals." Boston Consulting Group, April 2023. https://web-assets.bcg.com/49/9c/184a60f14ed9b17f8fabfd7c9d6c/hiding-in-plain-sight-first-generation-professionals-bcg-study.pdf10
"Hiding in Plain Sight: First-Generation Professionals." Boston Consulting Group, April 2023. https://web-assets.bcg.com/49/9c/184a60f14ed9b17f8fabfd7c9d6c/hiding-in-plain-sight-first-generation-professionals-bcg-study.pdfHello, World!