Finances, family, materials, and time: Career pathways participants' perceived challenges

This brief describes the perceived challenges of 84 study participants in career pathways program evaluated in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. In these interviews, respondents discussed in detail what they viewed as the difficulties they currently experience in the program, as well as challenges they foresaw in the future as they moved along a career pathway. As in prior research, financial challenges, academic worries, and family and other demands on their time were the most commonly articulated concerns, even though these participants were in programs offering a wide range of supports. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their motivations to participate and supports received. (author introduction)