Can a poor work history reduce your chances of acceptance into graduate school and/or later securing a tenure-track position? In my last post (re: financial feasibility of grad. school), I mentioned having a poor work history (I'm 38 and haven't worked except for a few years of self-employment years ago), and some said that I would have difficulty competing with applicants with stronger employment histories. I don't believe employment history is relative to academic performance, however.
The reason for my lack of prior work history is because I was bored at most jobs and found that my personality isn't suited for traditional employment. Would a graduate school admissions committee (this would be for a master's program) hold this against me despite good academic performance? Additionally, assuming one completes a master's degree and PhD, would tenure-track jobs (or even post-docs etc.) be suspicious of an applicant's lack of prior employment history?
As most things, it would depend. However, given the cumulative information from your posting history, I believe that your spotty work history would be flagged as a concern. Graduate committees will most likely focus first on your letters of reference, transcripts, and Statement of Purpose - not necessarily in that order.
What is unique about your situation is that you are 38, and as you say, you have not worked except for but a few years. If you were much younger, a sporadic work history might not be flagged as seriously. If you apply, you will need to be prepared to answer, why in your 38 years, you haven't been able to 1) find a career or 2) hold any type of regular position.
As far as tenure-track jobs, they will most likely focus on 1) your research output and 2) your letters of reference during your PhD.
If you feel that your sporadic work history is going to work against you, be ready to address this in your Statement of Purpose and work hard to get three good recommendation letters.