{"id":6303,"date":"2013-09-02T04:00:36","date_gmt":"2013-09-02T08:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=6303"},"modified":"2013-09-02T08:43:40","modified_gmt":"2013-09-02T12:43:40","slug":"happy-labor-day-sort-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2013\/09\/02\/happy-labor-day-sort-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Labor Day, sort of"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"unions\"<\/a>The rules have changed.<\/p>\n

I worked my way through college (literally–from sophomore year on I lived in my own apartment and supported myself). But I went to a free college (they existed in NYC back then) and jobs were plentiful. I had all kinds of jobs–bartender, office worker, “Young Poets in the Schools” administrator, waitress, art studio assistant, and so on.<\/p>\n

The moment I had my degree (in political science), I was hired by the NYC Welfare Department (that’s what it was called back then) as a caseworker. They were desperate–anyone with a college degree was eligible for a job with them. I was 20 years old and I had several hundred people in my caseload. No wonder the average length of time caseworkers lasted was less than a year (I was no exception).<\/p>\n

But a college degree was pretty much golden. If you could wave that piece of paper, and you knew how to type, talk, and write, jobs were easy to find.<\/p>\n

There was a push against becoming a “company man” or winding up in a factory for the rest of one’s life. In retrospect, that attitude spread across my generation because our economy was booming, and student loans were modest. We had the luxury of being picky or bouncing from job to job. Until I started at the radio station in 1980, I had never stayed at a job longer than a year or two–and I was never fired.<\/p>\n

At the same, labor unions were a powerful force in our economy and political life. While unions are still effective in some industries, the numbers have dwindled and even so-called “blue collar” workers have drifted away from unions. But today is Labor Day, and you can thank organized labor for the holiday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The labor landscape looks very different today than it did in the first two or three decades after WW II.<\/p>\n

For example, if you’re a recent college graduate, odds are you have hefty college loans to pay back. Theoretically, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you can find a good job with that degree.<\/p>\n

Problem is the debt is disproportionate to earning power. From\u00a0\u00a0a recent article at 24\/7 Wall St\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0exploring this problem:<\/p>\n

More than two-thirds of 2011\u2019s college\u00a0graduates<\/span><\/a>\u00a0had student debt. Those students, according to the Project on Student Debt, had an average of more than $25,000 in back loans. To make matters worse for many recent graduates, college graduates have a smaller chance of finding a job than they once did.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For some, the jobs they get with their degree pay so little that it can take years for them just to pay off their loans. 24\/7 Wall St. reviewed Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)\u00a0data to find jobs that require a bachelor\u2019s degree to be competitive, yet pay less than the median annual wage of $34,750. For example, legislators \u2014 elected government officials \u2014 earn a median of less than $20,000 annually even though most have bachelor\u2019s degrees. These are the seven highly educated jobs making the least money.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"unions2\"<\/a>By the way, radio and television announcers are on that list of seven.<\/p>\n

When my mother was growing up, a high school diploma was the goal. When she was orphaned as a 15 year old, she went to work, lived with a sister and both attended night high school. Night high school classes were common in NYC prior to World War II. Generally, these classes were the upward mobility pathway for immigrants and those from poorer families–for people who had to work as teenagers or twenty-year-olds and couldn’t afford to go to school during the day.<\/p>\n

In another article from 24\/7 Wall St<\/a>, a consideration of some of the best paying and most popular jobs in our economy today. If all you have is a high school diploma, working your way up the ladder may land you a six-figure job…eventually. Otherwise, a college degree, in spite of loans, will probably lead to more choices and better pay.<\/p>\n

If you’re interested in occupational employment statistics, the place to go is the Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>. This is where you’ll find “…employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual States, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas; national occupational estimates for specific industries are also available.”<\/p>\n

For those who can afford it–and have the intellectual talent–advanced degrees still provide the most professional promise.<\/p>\n

Here are some questions that keep coming up when we talk about education and employment in our 21st century economy:<\/p>\n

1. Is college worth the cost?<\/p>\n

2. Should everyone who wants to go to college (regardless of talent or capacity) be able to do so?<\/p>\n

3. Should there be more training tracks for those who don’t attend college?<\/p>\n

4. Where do the liberal arts fit into the college of the future?<\/p>\n

And, what are the other issues facing young people joining our workforce in today’s economy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rules have changed.
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