High School Student Government Members Likely to Pull in Big Bucks

The CareerBuilder press release said its poll of 6,000 full-time employees at least 30 years old asked participants to describe their high school persona – athlete, honor society, drama club, class clown, etc. – and then compared those personas with respondents job level, salary, industry ,and job satisfaction.

“While there are a variety of factors that determine one’s career path, high school involves learning experiences inside and outside the classroom that can shape interests and personal networks at an early age. It’s essentially a stepping stone into a world of opportunity,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com, in the announcement.

The study suggests cheerleaders were more likely to hold a vice president role. Those who were in student government and teacher’s pets had the greatest number in director/manager/team lead positions today (24%). Teacher’s pets also had the greatest number of workers holding administrative/clerical positions (41%). Former honor society members, athletes and geeks were more drawn toward professional and technical services positions at 59%, 55% and 52%, respectively.

Making the Big Bucks

The study found former student government members were more likely to report making a six-figure salary, with 12% stating they are paid an annual salary of $100,000 or more. Ten percent of honor society members said they earn six figures, followed by 7% of athletes, geeks, and class clowns.

Student government and honor society members and athletes ranked highest among those who earn an annual salary of $50,000 or more at 49%, 47%, and 45%, respectively. Teacher’s pets were more likely to report earning less than $35,000 per year (37%).

When examining industry groups, a greater number of cheerleaders reported going into travel and insurance than other personas, while a greater number of those in student government went into education. Drama club was also ranked as one of the highest among personas in public administration/government. More geeks reported holding positions in engineering and retail than other personas, while teacher’s pets were ranked as one of the highest in construction and banking and finance.

Job satisfaction levels are highest among teacher’s pets and cheerleaders. Eighty-one percent of teacher’s pets and 76% of cheerleaders said they are satisfied with their jobs . Geeks and class clowns had the greatest number who reported dissatisfaction with their jobs at 21% and 18%, respectively.

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,154 U.S. employees employed full-time, not self-employed, between February 11 and March 13, 2008.