Burning Glass Institute study analyzes 12 million U.S. employee career paths

A massive study conducted by the Burning Glass Institute and the Schultz Family Foundation has analyzed the career trajectories of 12 million employees across 1,750 major U.S. companies between 2019 and 2024. By utilizing data from platforms such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor, the research evaluated workplaces based on three primary metrics: promotion potential (the likelihood of moving to a higher position within five years), retention rates (the percentage of employees staying for at least three years), and salary.

The findings reveal significant disparities in workplace quality depending on specific job roles within the same company. Even within organizations rated as average, there can be an 81-percentile gap between the highest and lowest performing roles regarding promotion and retention. For example, while fashion designer roles at Chanel show high retention compared to industry peers, project manager roles at the same company show significantly lower stability.