The Beginning

I have recently re-entered the job market.

I, as a person, am insatiable as far as education goes. Nearly everything interests me and induces me to learn more. Recently, I was in a bit of a conundrum. My previous job experience and future educational and occupational desires had met head-on. Should I pursue journalism, civil engineering, physics, music education or architecture? After I finally decided where I want to be when my journey is over, I was faced with the path I needed to choose. This started with finding a job to hold during my education.

A veritable plethora of jobs existed out there that I was more than qualified for. But time and time again I was faced with a closed door; associate's degree required, bachelor's degree required, master's degree required. An associate's degree required for an administrative assistant position. There are people in New Hampshire that are trying to require licensing for Interior Decorators! Some listings in the paper for positions requiring a master's degree do not even pay a living wage if you have a family.

I challenge you, my readers to perform an experiment. For the next four months record the approximate age of every service tech that helps you. Our skilled laborers (plumbers, electricians and the like) are getting older. There are high schools that require Seniors to apply for college in order to graduate high school.

All of this together spells out a horrid future for our country, a future that is already starting to affect us. In this future, you are nobody without at least an associate's degree. This future creates even more jobs that are "beneath" the average US Citizen. This future feeds the debt machine that has gripped this country for years already (re: Visa commercials implying that if you do not sign on to the digital money revolution, you are not normal, undesirable and unproductive...a bit of Utopianistic, eh?). This future will include an even larger problem with illegal immigration than the one we face now (more unwanted, but necessary jobs=more unwanted but necessary-because-of-our-snobbishness illegals). This future will beget even higher college costs.

I am the first person to encourage anyone who wants to go to college to do so. If doing so is not going to break them financially for decades to come. But telling kids that they must go to college? I will never do this. My children will be presented with all the educational, athletic and extra-curricular opportunities I can afford. If they choose to pursue a career that does not necessitate a college education, I will support that. If they join the Army, or Peace Corps, or Americorps, or any number of other options for college money of trade-training, I will support them.

I fear, though, that the world will not support them. I fear that plumbers and soldiers and librarians and teachers and police officers will always be needed. But we will never pay them what they deserve. And their pay will not rise as fast as inflation and the cost of living does. It has not historically done so. Our society has not changed its attitude towards those (and other) professions, and it will not be changing for the better anytime soon.