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Topic: Only McJobs?
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Frustrated Mess
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8312
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posted 12 April 2006 02:30 PM
But not all those jobs are well paid, like "Writer", and not all are desirable. Take RN, for example. Long hours, all hours, disease, illness, violence, the first in line for abuse, the first in line to be cut, the last to be recognized and the last to be rewarded with the least reward. Remember the infamous Mike Harris and hula hoops. Anyone considering being an RN should. Teachers? Anyone who wants to be a teacher, in Ontario, ought to first go for self-abuse counselling. Software Engineer, I agree, there will be lots of demand. If you live in India. My advice is study what you love and do what you have to.
From: doom without the gloom | Registered: Feb 2005
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Sven
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 9972
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posted 12 April 2006 02:42 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Frustrated Mess:
My advice is study what you love and do what you have to.
My only revision to that would be: Do what you love, too. A person will be happier that way, even if they don’t make a lot of dough (on the other hand, there are those lucky people who love what they do and also make good dough). The trade-off in doing what you love can very often be not making much money (or having to work at another job that sucks to support yourself). But, the decision is yours. And, so, what I find frustrating is some people insisting that there are only McJobs out there when, in fact, people have a lot of choice as to what they want to do vocationally. As far as RNs go? Yeah, you can work long hours (and weird and ever-changing hours). But, if a person doesn’t want to be an RN, no one’s making a person be an RN. I know many RNs that love their jobs.
From: Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!!! | Registered: Jul 2005
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BCseawalker
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8468
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posted 12 April 2006 03:03 PM
It's interesting the recent report from Statistics Canada that 20% of university grads end up on very low income, in jobs requiring no more than high school graduation. Those are mostly people who studied humanities or business. I wouldn't have expected the latter, but humanities have always been known as not 'job marketable', at least by most employers. If you want to become a lawyer, then a philosophy of poliSci degree is OK; otherwise, you're outa luck. Still, I agree that studying a subject you don't love isn't a good idea. Unfortunately, our society no longer encourages the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake; instead, it's for the sake of marketability, [ 12 April 2006: Message edited by: BCseawalker ]
From: Unspecified | Registered: Mar 2005
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Sven
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 9972
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posted 12 April 2006 03:37 PM
quote:
Originally posted by BCseawalker:
Still, I agree that studying a subject you don't love isn't a good idea. Unfortunately, our society no longer encourages the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake; instead, it's for the sake of marketability.
And, there’s a real downside to business with that trend. Most of the business people that I deal with are intelligent, but very few can write well (that’s particularly true if they have pure technical backgrounds, at least in my experience). One of the “marketable” (or at least it should be marketable) benefits of studying literature, history or the humanities generally is an ability to think creatively and express ideas well in written form. Personally, a marriage between a liberal arts undergraduate degree with an MBA would be very good, assuming one wants to get into the commercial world, of course. But, I think most MBAs are business or technical undergrads.
From: Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!!! | Registered: Jul 2005
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jianadaren
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8415
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posted 02 May 2006 07:49 PM
What astounds me is how many non-Mcjobs require schooling and several years of experience, and still pay low wages. A check of www.jobbank.gc.ca will confirm that. My daughter took one year of accounting (was planning on doing more after working for a year, CGA route) and was looking for work and ran into a lot of 3 years experience required, we pay $9/h! I was looking for work the trades and ran into a lot of private companies that require at least a year of schooling, provide no extra training (learn the job in a week or your out of here) and start at $12/h. It takes over 3 years to get to $15/h with one particular company, and you have to purchase your own tools, some $800 worth. Some of my colleagues in Montreal thought I was making this up. I guaranteed it was true. To get a decent job, I had to go back to teaching and work overseas to get a respectable wage. I love working here, just not always living here. Do what you love if you can! [ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: jianadaren ] [ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: jianadaren ]
From: China | Registered: Mar 2005
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Naci_Sey
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12445
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posted 02 May 2006 09:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by jianadaren:
What astounds me is how many non-Mcjobs require schooling and several years of experience...
Yea, it's called credentialism. Post-secondary education is big business. Every young person - and we recycled ones - is being told 'You gotta get a degree', because without one, you haven't a hope of getting a job. The catch is this... It used to be that an undergraduate degree would bring you decent pay. Not anymore! Now there's a glut on the market of university undergrads. So now the mantra is 'You gotta get a Masters degree'. Well, guess what? We're starting to get a glut of MSci's and MA's on the market. Next step? Everyone will have to get a PhD. Not only is this getting ridiculous in the sense that people are being required to have so many years' post-secondary education to get a McJob, it also threatens the value of education itself. It suggests that curricula are being created so that everyone can get a MA or PhD. But then what does that say about the programs that are being taught? We aren't all geniuses. ETA: Link on credentialism. [ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: Naci_Sey ]
From: BC | Registered: Apr 2006
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Sanityatlast
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12414
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posted 02 May 2006 10:04 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Naci_Sey:
Yea, it's called credentialism. Post-secondary education is big business. Every young person - and we recycled ones - is being told 'You gotta get a degree', because without one, you haven't a hope of getting a job. The catch is this... It used to be that an undergraduate degree would bring you decent pay. Not anymore! Now there's a glut on the market of university undergrads. So now the mantra is 'You gotta get a Masters degree'. Well, guess what? We're starting to get a glut of MSci's and MA's on the market. Next step? Everyone will have to get a PhD. Not only is this getting ridiculous in the sense that people are being required to have so many years' post-secondary education to get a McJob, it also threatens the value of education itself. It suggests that curricula are being created so that everyone can get a MA or PhD. But then what does that say about the programs that are being taught? We aren't all geniuses. ETA: Link on credentialism. [ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: Naci_Sey ]
My wife and I graduated with our first degrees 30 years ago. There are way more opportunies today. Not only that but there are a lot more opportunties to get 'any' job if you don't get into your chosen field. 'Mcjobs' and so on were difficult to come by. Also, few people ever moved from university into their desired job. They scraped by for a few years and often moved to where the job was. We had the initiative to make our own opportunities (as do the tens of thousands who come to Alberta every year). The Summer Student Employment Center opened in Calgary last week. 800 students registered. 12,000 jobs available. Most students, if they want, can get seasonal and part time work in their chosen fileds...from health to engineering to energy, etc. This is a great way to springboard into a full time job in the profession upon graduation. [ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: Sanityatlast ]
From: Alberta | Registered: Apr 2006
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Fidel
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5594
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posted 02 May 2006 11:54 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Sanityatlast:
My wife and I graduated with our first degrees 30 years ago. There are way more opportunies today. Not only that but there are a lot more opportunties to get 'any' job if you don't get into your chosen field. 'Mcjobs' and so on were difficult to come by.
What kind of opportunities?. In the 13.25 years before FTA in 1989, Canada produced over three million full-time payroll jobs. In the 13.25 years after FTA, Canada produced 1, 381, 000 full-time payroll jobs. Pathetic! Next to the Yanks in a comparison of richest countries, Canada owns the second largest low skill, lowly paid workforce. Where does anyone think we rank with child poverty using the same international comparison ?.
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004
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Sanityatlast
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12414
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posted 03 May 2006 09:57 PM
quote:
Originally posted by lucas:
from Sven:
"...Personally, a marriage between a liberal arts undergraduate degree with an MBA would be very good, assuming one wants to get into the commercial world, of course. But, I think most MBAs are business or technical undergrads...."
I finished an undergrad in lit, then did an Ed degree.. taught high school for 5 years (until student loan was paid off) then left teaching as it was burning me out. I went back and completed an MBA in finance and was hired 4 months before graduation. Teaching was roughly $45k per year, my current position is roughly $100k per year. I shudder to think where I would be with just the lit degree. Surprisingly, I was told the reason I was hired was that I could write and speak coherently, something that many with purely technical or analytical backgrounds apparently lack.
[ 03 May 2006: Message edited by: lucas ]
Congrats on your initiative.
From: Alberta | Registered: Apr 2006
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