The employability of American workers has been uncertain for many years. Reasons such as outsourcing, overseas manufacturing, and automated services are all factors that have greatly contributed to both the recession and continuous poor job growth. We have lived in the Twenty-first Century for nearly fourteen years, and have yet to fully embrace job market changes. The fast-paced technology driven world that we live in has opened a gap in the need of several job types, however the characteristics of success are mostly the same. A successful individual will always need to have good character, education, and adaptability; the challenge is tweaking these qualities to fit into the new Wi-Fi world.
Character is one of the most important traits
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in any employee, regardless of what Century it is. What is character? Character is not something that is necessarily a tangible trait, it comes from within an individual and is shown in many forms. A form of good character that always stands out is by being a hard worker. Often an employer is willing to give more opportunity to a hard working simply because of their initiative. Like Maddie in Making it in America, “Maddie was hired back and assigned to the fuel-injector clean room, where she continued to impress people by working hard, learning quickly, and displaying a good attitude”. (321) Maddie had no experience in this field, yet she was still give her the opportunity to be their employee. Education is vital to success in the Twenty-first Century, perhaps more so now than ever.
However, it is crucial that a person chooses a wise educational path. In the past, there were plenty of jobs and opportunities that were seemingly infinite and expandable. In today’s work environment, it is more likely that jobs are unnecessary and expendable. In College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not all College Degrees Are Credited Equal the author gives several tips for current and prospective college students in what types of careers will be more lucrative to pursue. Majors such as Computer Science, Education, Healthcare, and Business are predicted to be more stable than Humanities and Liberal Arts majors. (298) Education has even become an integral part of manufacturing companies. This used to be a trade in which a worker could start at an entry-level and work up to become a higher operator. This is no longer the case, according to Making it in America, “Today, the computer moves the cutting tool and the operator needs to know how to talk to the computer”.(322) The precise computer technologies that have been obtained now means that a person cannot effectively utilize advanced machinery without educational …show more content…
instruction. The ability to adapt to a changing circumstance is a characteristic that one must strive for in order to attain success.
Change is inevitable in any career choice, especially now in this new and exciting century. One interesting thing to consider when it comes to adaptability lies in the choices a student makes in their education – long before the work force is even an option. A rather bleak illustration of the after effects of a Humanities degree in A Post-College Flow Chart of Misery and Pain, is certainly ringing an alarm bell to anyone who may be considering that path. For many people college is their career at the present time, and adapting a prior major to one that will be more employable is certainly a key component of eventual success. Once someone is out in the world in their chosen field, being flexible is still necessary. Whether it be additional training or the need to relocate due to employer requirements, things always
change. The Twenty-first Century thus far has been full of ups and down for America. We have seen tremendous technological advances, however those too often come at the price of jobs. The key to becoming a successful asset in a career rests solely on the characteristics that workers possess and utilize effectively. The new century is still in its infancy, although the advancements that have been made in fourteen years are nothing short of amazing. In order to comply with the exciting pace of the job market, people must recognize that this new job frontier is quite different than the familiar past. While the traits that assist in successful careers have not changed, the structure of the Twenty-first Century employment is a new, exciting, and terrifying experience.
With the advent of the internet, technical schools, and computers in general, jobs today are more specialized than ever before, and they will continue to increase in particularity, thus a purely liberal arts curriculum is very untimely. Most people take four years to attain a bachelor’s degree of some kind and if they want a salary increase it requires at least two more years of graduate school before they can even think about entering the workplace. If people study only humanities for six of their most pivotal years of life, depending on their field of work, they may have a very small base of technical knowledge to utilize.
College is the place where people go to retain the necessary training for a job that requires specific skills, which results in earning a higher pay check. In today’s world, employers are scouting out for individuals with the proper dexterities to fill the shoes for that specific job. Blanche D. Blank, the author of “A Question of Degree," argues that possessing a degree of higher education isn’t the only way to have a very successful life. This statement is highly argumentative, due to the fact that college graduates still out-earn people without degrees. Obtaining a college degree is one of the best things someone can do for themselves, when it comes to looking for a stable job. There is also so much more to college than just receiving a
Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
The concept of the "working poor" has gained prominence in the post-welfare reform era. As welfare rolls shrunk, the focus shifted from the dependent poor to the working poor. It was obvious that without substantial outside support, even families with full-time low-wage workers were still earning less than the official poverty line. And while American society purports that anyone can prosper if they work hard enough, it became apparent that with inadequate opportunity or bad luck, a growing number of families could not attain the American dream, or even break the cycle of poverty. The new challenge for American social policy is to help the working poor lift themselves out of poverty. That's why progressives who supported ending welfare as we know it have set a new goal -- the government should "make work pay" so that no one who works full time is poor.
The United States, a place where anyone can “pick themselves up by the bootstraps” and realize the American dream of a comfortable lifestyle. Well, for over 30 million Americans this is no longer possible. Though we live in the richest and most powerful country in the world there are many who are living under or at the precipice of the poverty level, “While the United States has enjoyed unprecedented affluence, low-wage employees have been testing the American doctrine that hard work cures poverty” (The Working Poor, 4). This translates to families of four making around 18,850$ a year. And as soon as they find work or move just slightly above that 18,850$ a year (which is still a meager and deprived way to live) they are cut off from welfare checks and other “benefits”, “they [working poor] lose other supports designed to help them such as food stamps and health insurance, leaving them no better off-and sometimes worse off-than when they were not working” (The Working Poor, 40). The working poor find themselves in a trap of dead-end, minimum wage jobs, and complicated, under funded government programs.
Although a college education grows more and more expensive every year. People begin to question whether college is a good idea to invest in or not. “As college costs continue to rise, students and their families are looking more carefully at what they are getting for their money. Increasingly, they are finding that the college experience falls short of their expectations”(Cooper. H Mary). Many people believe that the cost of a college degree has outstripped the value of a degree.Studies show that a college degree will increase your earning power. A lot of people say that a college degree now is worth what a high school diploma was wor...
If more people went to college, and less went the vocational route, jobs will take a momentous hit. Today, companies will not even touch an application that does not include a Bachelor’s Degree; even if the Bachelor’s Degree has nothing to do with the job being applied for. Attention is not given to whether the hopeful applicant qualifies for the job; all that matters is that the applicant has a Bachelor’s degree. Murray best sums up the American job market when he says, “Employers do not value what the student learned, just that the student has a degree” (Murray). However, if less people obtain a Bachelor’s Degree, employers will be forced to base applicants on their skills, and abilities. Furthermore, important vocational jobs that lie vacant will be filled. Good electricians, carpenters, and construction workers will always be in
Continuities and changes in the labor systems in the Americas can be seen between 1450 and 1750. The continuation of the forced labor systems that American Indians had used was a major labor system continuity of the time. Such systems also experienced changes, such as the the introduction of new forced labor systems such as the Spanish encomienda system that helped Europeans in the Americas developed large and valuable plantations.
The report of Robert Reich: “Why the Rich are getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer,” is an eye opener and a warning for society regarding unemployment that it will be facing and is currently facing due to a lack of technology and education. It clearly articulates that the jobs of routine producers and in-person servers have vanished totally as modern techniques have replaced them. The author has stated that the only people whose jobs are on the rise are symbol analysts. As stated in the report, symbol analysts are the real problem solvers. Their skills are highly in demand worldwide because they are the ones who first analyze the problem and then solve it. The Hart Report, on the other hand, also states the same problem of unemployment and the global recession which has left employers focusing on employees not only with specialists’ skills but also a “broader range of skills and knowledge” (page 6-7). The Hart Report clearly reflects what the needs of contemporary employers are, but the question is whether it is the universities or the students themselves who fail to cope with the requirements of the contemporary world which is filled with technological advancement and critical thinking. The Texas Work Source has also played an important role in examining what is actually missing in today’s generation and the reasons behind such a great decline in employment. The central
Have you wondered what would be the best degree to have in your life? The STEM vs. Humanities argument is a decades-long debate, but in this new era, the answer is quickly becoming clear. The STEM field is rapidly growing, with new and innovative advances. STEM degrees are becoming increasingly useful for young adults, far ahead of humanities and liberal arts degrees. STEM majors make more money, are better employed, and are better educated and prepared for work. STEM graduates are making nearly $16,000 more than their liberal arts counterparts and are more likely to hold a full-time job. The job market for STEM fields is also favorable for young adults, with the unemployment rate of STEM majors being a full 1.6% lower than the unemployment
Working in today’s society has changed in the last few decades. The economy and technology are the main reasons for this change. The type of job and environment where one works has also changed. The fact that many people work from home via the internet has drastically changed the workforce and the environment surrounding it. With this change comes new demands, expectations, and opportunities for employers.
A typical student on average goes to school starting from kindergarten to high school. After, students decide whether to seek a higher education in college or start working. For most people, the key to education is to equip young adults with the ability to survive and to make a standard living in the future. In this essay, I will not only argue why it is unnecessary for young adults to pursue higher education, such as college and beyond, but also that obtaining a college degree is irrelevant. The first reason why I strongly believe in this, is that even though students earn a college degree, there isn’t a guaranteed position for a set job. Second, some jobs that students are employed at don’t require a college degree. Third, after finishing college, students need to pay off the debt that could follow them for years because interest rates and tuition costs are at an all time high. Finally, attending a four year college doesn’t necessarily mean they will receive higher salaries than a non-graduate.
...y you have enthusiasm for and do well in,” is advice often given by employers. Lynn Cheney, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, agrees: “Students who follow their hearts in choosing majors will most likely end up laboring at what they love. They’re the ones who will put in the long hours and intense effort that achievement requires. And they’re the ones who will find the sense of purpose that underlies most human happiness.”
While having the right skills for employment is imperative to obtaining a decent job. Displaying your job skills in America’s competitive job market can be challenging. One stigma can be perceived that long-term jobless people have been sitting around and not really wanting to work. (Daly, Hobijn, and Kwok 2015) Or the perception that they would not take a lower paying job, and if they do, they will leave as soon as they find a higher paying one. Some companies have clearly barred the underemployed or long-term unemployed from certa...
To remain competitive and employable in the twenty-first century workplace, society today must conform to the changing demands. Technology is one of the principal driving forces of the future; it is transforming our lives and shaping our future at rates unprecedented in history, with profound implications, which we cannot even begin to see or understand.