<p><span class="p-body"><b>New York, June 2, 2026 — </b>Nearly a quarter of US working professionals experience mid-career stall — still working, but with no promotion or wage increase for five years or more, according to a new report from the<b> </b><a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/"><b>NYU School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS)</b></a><a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/about/academic-divisions-and-departments/schack-institute-of-real-estate.html"> </a>and <a href="https://www.burningglassinstitute.org/" target="_blank"><b>Burning Glass Institute</b></a>, with support from <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/" target="_blank"><b>The Gates Foundation</b>.</a></span></p> <p><span class="p-body">The report, titled <a href="https://www.burningglassinstitute.org/research/sidetracked" target="_blank"><i><b>Sidetracked: The Hidden Crisis In Mid-Career Mobility</b></i><b><i>, </i></b></a>provides the first large-scale analysis of a workforce phenomenon that has been hiding in plain sight. Unlike layoffs or sectoral decline, mid-career stall isn’t marked by job loss. Rather, it is a loss of momentum inside employment — a structural slowdown in advancement that can leave experienced workers stranded even as employers struggle to fill higher-value roles.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">“Mid-career stall is often treated as an individual problem, but our research shows that it is also a systems problem — one that can be detected earlier and addressed more intentionally,” said <b>Angie Kamath, Harvey J. Stedman Dean of the NYU School of Professional Studies</b>. “Higher education can play an important role in helping working adults, HR leaders, and workforce development professionals translate real-world experience into career mobility. This impact is especially powerful when academic programs align with the actual skills and career transitions the labor market rewards.”&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">“Career stall is one of the least visible forms of economic insecurity,” said <b>Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute</b>. “These are not workers who have exited the labor market. They are people who are still contributing, often in good jobs, but whose careers have stopped compounding. The good news is that stall is not random: it leaves signals, and those signals can help employers, educators, and workers intervene before momentum is lost.”</span></p> <p><span class="p-body"><b>Topline Report Highlights</b></span></p> <ul class="p-list"> <li><span class="p-body"><b><i>The 10-Year Career Plateau</i> — </b>Roughly one in four mid-career professionals hits a plateau ten years into their careers, where their earnings and responsibilities flatten.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b><i>Career Stall Warning Signs</i> —</b> At the 10-year mark, those who ultimately stall out have already fallen behind, averaging just 1.5 promotions and 45% wage growth, compared to 1.9 promotions and 66% growth for peers who avoid stall. The research suggests that a mid-career stall often culminates a slow-moving early-career slump, creating an opportunity for early detection when intervention is far more feasible.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b><i>Sector Stagnation </i>—</b> Some of the highest rates of stalled talent are in high-growth and well-paying sectors, including Public Administration (33.4%), Real Estate (30.2%), and Finance (26.6%).</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b><i>The Cost of Lost Momentum </i></b>— The financial penalty from lack of mid-career mobility can be steep. For example, for a software developer, a mid-career stall can lead to a cumulative wage deficit of over $43,000 over 15 years compared with similarly positioned peers who continue to advance.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b><i>Internal Mobility Pathways Can Reduce Stall Risk </i></b>— The report identifies adjacent roles that can offer workers renewed career momentum while helping employers address persistent talent needs. For example, computer programmers who transition into data science roles within the same company can reduce their stall risk by up to 86%, illustrating how targeted internal mobility can convert stranded talent into a source of growth.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b><i>Education &amp; Credentials Matter</i></b> — People with a bachelor’s degree or higher and high-quality, market-aligned credentials generally experience fewer career stalls and are more likely to overcome them when they occur.</span></li> </ul> <p><span class="p-body">“Career advancement increasingly depends on whether working adults can identify the right next move and access learning that helps them make it,” said <b>Douglas Harrison, clinical professor and associate dean of the </b><a href="/content/sps-nyu/about/academic-divisions-and-departments/division-of-applied-undergraduate-studies.html"><b>NYU SPS Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies (DAUS).</b></a> “This research gives educators a more precise view of where mid-career professionals get stuck and which skills, credentials, and transitions can help them regain upward mobility.”&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span class="p-body"><b>Report Methodology<br> </b>The report draws on the Burning Glass Institute’s database of career histories for 65 million US workers, representing the experience of approximately two-thirds of the college-educated US workforce and 40% of the US workforce overall. Researchers then focused on the careers of 1.3 million of these workers who are mid-career professionals who have experienced career stall.&nbsp; The analysis examines patterns in promotions, wage growth, career transitions, credentials, and occupational mobility to identify where mid-career stall occurs, which workers are most at risk, and which pathways are most associated with renewed advancement. Empirical observations about the careers of stalled workers were integrated with the Burning Glass Institute’s Labor Shortage Index and <a href="https://www.burningglassinstitute.org/cvi" target="_blank"><b>Credential Value Index in order to contextualize their lack of advancement within metrics of labor market opportunity</b>. </a>&nbsp;(See report for a more extensive discussion of the methodology).</span></p> <p><span class="p-body"><b>About the Burning Glass Institute<br> </b>The Burning Glass Institute advances research and practice at the intersection of work, learning, and economic mobility. Drawing on large-scale data on skills, jobs, and career histories, the Institute helps educators, employers, and policymakers build pathways that expand opportunity and enable more workers to move into better jobs.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body"><b>About the NYU School of Professional Studies and the Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies<br> </b>Established in 1934, NYU SPS is one of 20 NYU schools and colleges. An internationally recognized higher education institution, the school offers students practical, real-world preparation to thrive in their careers, while building the next generation of industry leaders ready to embrace tomorrow’s innovations and challenges and to lead change in global workplaces.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">NYU SPS DAUS delivers a career-connected NYU education built for working and lifelong learners, including transfer students, career, adult, and lifelong learners looking to upskill with certifications and credentials, military members and veterans, and others who may have delayed pursuing their associate’s degree or started a bachelor’s degree but never finished.</span></p>