Daniel Davis Headshot

Lecturer and Sociologist of Work:

I teach sociology (@ UCSD & SDSU). I also do research and write about work and workers.

My courses and resources on work coming soon at: www.laborlab.com

Core Research Areas:

Work and workers in the new economy:

  • Job Crafting
  • Work Identity
  • Career Coaching/Counseling
  • College-to-Career Transitions
  • Freelancers & Knowledge Workers

Current Project: Work Identity & Job Crafting

I am examining how our personal philosophies of work shape how we do our work and how satisfied we are with it. Some people are actively disengaged from their work, viewing it as a necessity to get by. Others barely have a life outside of their work, and are at risk of burnout and workism. Most land within a range between these extremes, having what they may call jobs, careers, or callings in successive stages of identification with their work. I am investigating how these orientations impact workers and how they can make the most of it, whichever category they most fit.

A recent publication of mine about Entrepreneurs and the formation of their work identity was recently published:

Sociology Explains Entrepreneurial Identity (2019): How sociological theory is helpful for understanding how people who start businesses construct various types of entrepreneurial identities. Journal of Enterprising Culture.

Select Past Work:

Some examples of my recent (and recent-ish) projects include:

Career Inequalities Between Private and Public University Grads (2019): How elite private universities maintain multiple layers of employment advantage for their graduates (using LinkedIn data of graduates’ early jobs). Socius (July 23, 2019)

Giving Fosters Wealth Creation (2019): How large donors in San Diego believe philanthropy can help boost regional economies. The Nonprofit Quarterly.

Student Startups Can Harm Career Pathways (2018): My dissertation on how undergraduate entrepreneurship training programs do not equally benefit all students.

Poor Treatment of Adjuncts is Bad for Students (2017): How the mistreatment of adjunct faculty can lead to worse outcomes for students; and suggestions for how to make steps toward a fairer work environment. Stylus Press. Here’s a recent (2019) suggestion for a compromise! Inside Higher Ed.

Companies Can Buy Access to Students (2016): How the emergence of corporate partnership programs in university career services centers are changing the face of how some firms can recruit students. Research in Sociology of Organizations.

Top Firms Hack Recruiting at Top Campuses (2016): How elite universities like Harvard and Stanford let a handful of wealthy firms recruit massively outsized proportions of their students; students who are often ambivalent about working for these gilded employers. Sociology of Education. 

CV & CONTACT INFO:

PDF of my CV: Davis- Curriculum Vitae