Abstract
Public employment at all levels--federal, state, and local--is generally held in lower repute than private employment. Psychologists, political scientists, public administrators, and economists frequently express this conviction in their professional journals. They admit that public employment in general has risen greatly in prestige during the past thirty-five years but maintain that it is still regarded as a relatively inferior livelihood by a majority of citizens.This research examines 1375 upper division students in the California state colleges to determine (1) the general level of prestige of employment in California state service as seen by that group, (2) the prevalence of favorable or unfavorable opinion about the state of California as an employer in certain selected areas, and (3) any relationships which may exist between these items and the factors of sex, age, marital status, college major,geographic location, vocational preference, employment preference, father's occupation, father's employer, mother's occupation, mother's employer, and previous work experience.