Carrie Shandra

Carrie Shandra is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University (SUNY). She received her PhD from Brown University and has held fellowships from the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the U.S. National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. Her research examines work and life course inequalities in the United States, with a particular focus on the transition to adulthood, labor market experiences, and disability. She is currently writing a book on internships and the college-to-career transition.

The project

Title: Internships and Inequality in Labor Market Entry

"Internships, despite their growing prevalence and perceived value in the labor market, are often overlooked in studies of inequality, higher education, and employment. Yet qualitative and case study evidence suggests that internships are disproportionately accessed by more privileged students and job seekers, vary widely in terms of pay and job relevance, and yield uneven returns in subsequent employment. This project draws on a new nationally representative U.S. survey module to examine three dimensions of how internships contribute to labor market polarization:

1. who interns by socioeconomic and educational background,
2. in what type of internship experience by occupation, industry, duration, and pay,
3. and to what advantage internships have for subsequent employment.

Results will provide population-level knowledge on a typically unobserved form of work experience, and a greater understanding of disparities in the school to work transition process."

Hosting institution: Sciences Po

Selective Bibliography

• Shandra, Carrie L. and Fiona Burke. 2023. “The Disability Gap in Time Use by Age Across the Life Course.” Research in Social Science and Disability, Volume 14: Disabilities and the Life Course, edited by H.E. Dillaway, C.L. Shandra, and A.A. Bender. Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald.
• Jaeger, David A., John M. Nunley, R. Alan Seals, Jr., Carrie L. Shandra and Eric J. Wilbrandt. 2023. “The Demand for Interns.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 209: 372-390.
• Shandra, Carrie L. 2022. “Internship Participation in the United States by Student and School Characteristics, 1994 to 2017.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World.
• Shandra, Carrie L. 2022. “Disability and Social Participation.” Oxford Handbook on the Sociology of Disability, edited by R.L. Brown, M. Maroto, and D. Pettinicchio. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Shandra, Carrie L. 2018. “Disability as Inequality: Social Disparities, Health Disparities, and Participation in Daily Activities.” Social Forces 97(1):157-192.