Analysis Of The Article 'Blue Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic To College'

David Leonhardt in his article “Is College Really Worth It? Clearly New Data Say” goes over the biggest negatives of college that deter students and even returning adults from receiving a higher education and earning a degree. He talks about the struggles of finding work after college and the accumulated student debt. Daivd Leonhardt points out that “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98% more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” (Leonhardt). Which shows that as much as college costs, you get that back multiple times over after graduation and after you are employed. The stress and struggles that undergraduates face such as deciding a major, the issue of time commitment and large financial sacrifices are worth

As an older adult who is now going back to college, I have many experiences in my life and career that have helped me appreciate how college opens more opportunities. Like Braakma, I have also experienced backbreaking manual labor jobs; moving steel beams and working in a factory on an assembly line. These experiences made me quickly realize that I wanted a different career path. When I couldn't even lift my arms at the end of the day from exhaustion and pain, I knew I wanted to pursue higher education for the opportunity to work in the computer field. Because technology constantly changes and increases, I have continually gone to school to renew my skills. As a blue-collar worker who has gone back to college several times in my adult life, I know higher education has improved my career prospects. Now, I am now attending college as an older adult to change my career path yet again. The opportunities I am pursuing in my career will only be possible with a college degree.

In “Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose, Rose describes his observations of his mother 's career as a waitress and his uncle 's career at a motor company. He noticed different behaviors, conversations, responses, and customs that both conveyed in their field of work. Rose’s mother was a hard working woman. She was consistent and accurate with her orders, had a great memory, knew how to communicate with her customers efficiently depending on their needs, and had no problem carrying two arms of plates and drinks. Now that is skill. On the other hand, his uncle managed his time wisely, got things done the right way, and never failed to do his job. Rose states that work involves both the body and the brain no matter what the occupation.

The articles “Blue-Collar Brilliance” written by Mike Rose and “Are Too Many People Going to College?” by Charles Murray discuss the importance of education and its outcomes. Both authors talk about people’s careers on the aspect of whether a college degree made them succeed in life or it is just an expensive waste of time. Also, each article has its own opinion over the fact that some people with college education aren’t able to find jobs while others with no college background are able to succeed. Rose and Murray, both agreed on the idea that college isn’t for all just simply because of its cost, and how each person’s intelligence does not depend on their acceptance to a college; further, both authors also acknowledge the importance of blue-collar workers and their prosperity.

This potential shortage of qualified workers has come to a level of conscious awareness and states such as Texas could benefit from the skill sets found within this diverse group of people (Hrabowski, 2012). Another problem centers on the need to fill the void that will be left by the large number of baby boomers who are close to retirement age (Malcolm, 2010). This phenomenon is not new, studies have established a correlation between earning a college degree and different socio-economic levels (Swaii, Redd, & Perna, 2003). Another study looked at the advantages of earning a post- secondary degree such as more pay, higher level of job satisfaction, movement between classes, access to better health insurance, and contributions as a tax payer (Baum, Ma, Payea, 2013). The Texas Higher Education plan “Closing the Gaps” has indicated the need for an educated workforce to contribute to the state’s prosperity and noted that an education takes an

College graduates are more likely to have higher wages and better benefits. 70% of college graduates had health insurance and retirement plans provided by their job available to them, whereas only half of high school graduates had health insurance offered to them by their workplace, and 55% of high school graduates had access retirement plans provided by their job (14, “College Education”). These statistics show that someone looking for more appealing and secure jobs with good

When boomer demand slams into the market place, prices soar (until the fad passes). Nothing stops the baby-boomer. There is somewhat of a bright side to all the spending and boomer traffic. Being just a few steps ahead of the boomer can make an individual very well off if you know which way they are headed. Boomers have always acted this way. Still the largest generation in the United States has been shifting markets ever since the diaper and baby food industries in the late 1940's (Geoffery 59-64). Construction of elementary facilities exploded for municipal budgets—Los Angeles was spending $1 million a week on new schools in the mid-1960's (Geoffery 59-64). After that happened, the boomer moved on abandoning a huge amount of those facilities. When younger boomers wanted cars, the Mustang and Camaro were considered a phenomenon and as the boomer herd passed so did the sales. Suburban homes in beautiful areas were next since boomers were doing the family thing. Prices on suburban homes exploded in the 80's and as usual; when the boomer left, so did the sales.

In the article “Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College” (2008), Libby Sander, a reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education, argues that there is a sharp increase in the age of the average student at American colleges, and that these institutions are best positioned to adapt themselves to be more supportive of this changing demographic. Sanders supports her claims by showing that 41 percent of the 55 and older population according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics will still be in the workforce, many of whom will use the college experience to acquire the skills they need to change careers or keep the ones they have. And by providing anecdotes and testimonials from older students like electrician David Cox who is using his new education

As the world of work becomes more complex, many workers need training to avoid losing their jobs or being passed over for promotion. Consequently, many who would not have considered college 20 or even 15 years ago are finding themselves back in school. As adults become students, employers, colleges, and workers are changing old notions about how to go about pursuing higher learning.

Libby Sanders author of “Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College,” talks about people of the baby boomer times (1946-1965) returning to college. The exhaustion of physical labor throughout the years are now beginning to take effect, leading them to return back to school where they can then pursue either a new career path that is less labor intense or gain more skills in keep their current jobs. Sanders addresses a couple arguments in her reading. First being community colleges making the proper changes in order to accommodate and make colleges more accessible for people of greater age. With changing career paths at a later age has people feeling the need to continue working through what would of been there years of retirement.

Can you imagine yourself as an adult who just graduated from college, and has to move back home and live with your parents? Imagine waking up everyday and knowing that you have two hundred thousand dollars in student loans that has to be paid? There are many reasons that cause these problems, but today, large amounts of student debt and an increase in unemployment are the major problems that college graduates are facing. With the lack of jobs and no money, people are turning to their parents for food and shelter. In Rosie Evan’s essay “Boomerang Kids: What are the Cause of Generation Y’s Growing Pains,” she explains the causes of the delayed adulthood, and she also gives the messages to people and the government to offer better support to this generation. The causes of Generation Y’ growing pains are the amount of college’s debt, lack of employment and people becoming too dependent on technology.

A few of the most common occupations for baby boomers include, but are not limited to, office clerks and administrative support services, accounting and bookkeeping, sales management/business management/middle management, manual labor and construction workers, law enforcement, elementary school teachers and nurses (“Selected Post”, n.d.). Women were typically the ones found working clerical jobs because of the financial stability and convenient work schedule that these jobs provided (“Selected Post”, n.d.). Throughout the baby boomer generation, many of the college graduates pursued careers in bookkeeping and accounting, as well as in middle management, sales, and business (“Selected Post”, n.d.). For those who didn’t receive a college education, manual labor and construction jobs were popular due to the fact that workers could start without having an education and could easily learn the required skills while on the job (“Selected Post”, n.d.). Law enforcement was yet another common career path chosen by baby boomers because they wanted to make a difference in their

     It seems in the society we live in today, having a college degree is a necessity. Years ago it was the norm for people to just go right into a full time job after high school, if they even finished high school; they did this to support their families. In today’s society a person has a difficult time getting a decent job without a college degree. During an adults working life, bachelor degree graduates will earn about $2.1 million and a high school graduate can expect to earn an average of $1.2 million (Day and Newburger, 2002). This is quite a difference and it puts a college education in

In the competitive world today, having a college degree might not benefit a student as much as before, thus opening up numerous questions concerning its necessity. Not only is the number of students desperately trying to enroll in college increasing, but the tuition shoots up as well. However, will college enrollment necessarily be enough to increase your chances of attaining job security? The answer is hotly debated amongst adults and students alike, which opens up the second option for students, that is, joining the work force. Although this option is generally shunned by the new generation, the tough economy and slow restoration makes it quite a desirable choice at the moment. Joining the work force is a hard decision to make as it

The workplace of today involves interactions among people from four different generations often causing much conflict for leaders and organizations. Each generation represented has its own set of different values and beliefs. These differences can easily lead to conflicting barriers within the workplace. This can pose a significant problem for those in leadership. In order to combat this issue, leaders and organizations can effectively deal with these issues by offering different programs such as executive mentoring, town hall meetings, and leadership seminars for those in leadership.