The thesis compares education attainment levels and the returns of education investments of three native-born ethnic groups, Mexican Americans, non-Hispanic whites, and African Americans. Using two ordinary least square (OLS) regression models and data from the 2000 5% Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), the analysis determines if lower levels of earnings and occupation prestige status among native-born Mexican Americans are the result of low levels of education or are attributed to lower returns on their education. The first model compares income earned across the ethnic groups while the second model compares occupational prestige status across the three groups. The study shows that Mexican Americans continue to have the highest levels of high school dropouts and as a whole continue to lag behind whites in education attainment especially among the higher levels of education beginning at the college degree level. However, the results from the multiple linear regression analyses provide a positive outlook for Mexican Americans who attain higher levels of education receiving comparable or greater returns on their human capital investments. First, the results suggest that any additional year(s) of education attainment above a high school diploma provides greater returns for Mexican Americans given the anemic state of higher education levels for this ethnic group. Second, attaining a college degree has the greatest effect on labor market outcomes. Finally, the results do provide empirical evidence of structural discrimination especially in the case of African Americans with respect to income earned. In addition, at the professional degree attainment level whites receive greater returns in income despite having the same level of education and occupation prestige status when compared to Mexican Americans and African Americans.

The thesis compares education attainment levels and the returns of education investments of three native-born ethnic groups, Mexican Americans, non-Hispanic whites, and African Americans. Using two ordinary least square (OLS) regression models and data from the 2000 5% Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), the analysis determines if lower levels of earnings and occupation prestige status among native-born Mexican Americans are the result of low levels of education or are attributed to lower returns on their education. The first model compares income earned across the ethnic groups while the second model compares occupational prestige status across the three groups. The study shows that Mexican Americans continue to have the highest levels of high school dropouts and as a whole continue to lag behind whites in education attainment especially among the higher levels of education beginning at the college degree level. However, the results from the multiple linear regression analyses provide a positive outlook for Mexican Americans who attain higher levels of education receiving comparable or greater returns on their human capital investments. First, the results suggest that any additional year(s) of education attainment above a high school diploma provides greater returns for Mexican Americans given the anemic state of higher education levels for this ethnic group. Second, attaining a college degree has the greatest effect on labor market outcomes. Finally, the results do provide empirical evidence of structural discrimination especially in the case of African Americans with respect to income earned. In addition, at the professional degree attainment level whites receive greater returns in income despite having the same level of education and occupation prestige status when compared to Mexican Americans and African Americans.

The main diploma thesis purpose is mapping of current nurse social and professional status from nurse point of view in scope of their subjective sensation of occupation prestige. Mainly we are speaking about monitoring of their work contents changes as well as their bossiness position changes and also community position changes.

This study examined whether level of occupational prestige in early adulthood and rate of change in occupational prestige had an effect on psychosocial development in middle adulthood and whether gender had an effect on occupational prestige and psychosocial development. Utilizing a subsample from the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study (RALS), 180 participants were assessed longitudinally, approximately every eleven years after their original assessment in 1966 as college students. Results showed that over time individuals improve in their sense of work competency and individuals differ in their rate of change in occupational prestige over time. However, contrary to the hypotheses, findings indicated that there were no significant relationships between occupational prestige in early adulthood and psychosocial development in middle adulthood. The results also revealed a significant gender difference with respect to occupational prestige with males on average having higher occupational prestige compared to females. In all, it was shown that how productive and confident people perceive themselves to be in the workforce differs. However, there is no direct relationship between occupational prestige how self-perception of work competency. Findings highlight the importance of Eriksonian theory in that individuals continue to develop psychosocially over time.