Discussion Paper
Opportunity Occupations in the Southeast
Wardrip, Keith; Fee, Kyle; Nelson, Lisa (2019-09-04)
Opportunity occupations—or opportunity employment—are jobs that do not require a bachelor’s degree and pay above a regionally adjusted median wage. This article takes a look at trends in the Southeast. For a deeper look at trends in opportunity occupations, see also "Opportunity Occupations Revisited: Exploring Employment for Sub-Baccalaureate Workers Across Metro Areas and Over Time."
Workforce Currents , Paper 2019-04

Discussion Paper
Opportunity Occupations: Well-Paying Jobs for Middle-Skill Workers
de Zeeuw, Mels (2017-11-08)
Did you know that only 29.7 percent of Americans over the age of 25 have attained a four-year college degree? Given many policymakers' focus on increasing the share of individuals who attain a degree, that may sound like a surprisingly low number. It leaves a large group of American workers who do not have a four-year degree and lack the means or desire to obtain one in the current labor market. In fact, "middle-skill" Americans, defined as those who have obtained their high school diploma but not a four-year college degree, comprise some 57 percent of the country's total population of those ...
Workforce Currents , Paper 2017-02

Discussion Paper
Opportunity Occupations and the Future of Work
de Zeeuw, Mels (2020-02-12)
From 19th-century workers smashing textile factory machines to John Maynard Keynes's musing on technological unemployment, worries and passions about machines replacing workers are hundreds of years old. More recently, robots and computers (through artificial intelligence) are replacing a growing number of human skills, and this has become an important topic of conversation in public policy. It is also increasingly on the minds of workers and students making decisions about their investments in skills and career preparation.
Workforce Currents , Paper 2020-01