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Blue-collar envy: Skilled trades appeal to underemployed Ph.D.
Computerworld ^ | APRIL 04, 2006 | Elva Angelique Van Devender

Posted on 04/04/2006 9:58:28 AM PDT by stainlessbanner

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To: oceanview

Well, I don't. So there. That was a waste of time.


121 posted on 04/04/2006 1:53:26 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

the former employees who slide out of your tech wage figures completely - and show up somewhere in the wage pool at lower paying jobs - tells the real story.

the same way the NBA median salary tells us nothing about what is happening in the broader macro economic picture americans live within.


122 posted on 04/04/2006 1:54:45 PM PDT by oceanview
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To: oceanview
Why are you fixated on the NBA? Shouldn't you include the semi-pro leagues in the U.S.? How about Europe? What about Wednesday night beer leagues?

If you're trying to get a handle on the demand for basketball players, you're getting nowhere by limiting your data set in such a fashion.

123 posted on 04/04/2006 2:00:55 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

Protectionist "math" strikes again!!


124 posted on 04/04/2006 2:10:16 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (Why are protectionists so bad at math?)
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To: newcthem

"Her sole job is to try and convince high school guidance councilors that kids really can make a heck of a lot more money in the skilled trades with a one or two year degree"

Tell her to keep plugging away. We live in a school district that over 90% of graduating seniors attend a 4 year college. However, my son was completely bored with the college prep courses and made the decision he does not want to go to college. He will be attending the area vocational program at the local junior college for his junior and senior years and will then join the military. The great part of this vocational program is the students can earn college credits (with appropriate grades). There are about 7% of his class in our district attending this program. The stigma of vocational training is slowly eroding as parents are asking for more options in order to raise a producing member of society.


125 posted on 04/04/2006 2:22:26 PM PDT by ebersole
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To: 1rudeboy
If anyone wants a good laugh, go to MapQuest and check-out where Corvallis actually is.

Good catch. It's about 70+ miles outside of Portland in what appears to be a fairly rural area.

I'm not sure what kind of job she is expecting to find out there that fits her degree. It would be like someone with an MBA and job experience in working with derivatives complaining that he can't find a job in Pennsylvania's Amish country.

126 posted on 04/04/2006 2:23:41 PM PDT by Potowmack ("In politics, madame, you need two things: friends, but above all an enemy." Brian Mulroney)
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To: Potowmack
I'm not sure what kind of job she is expecting to find out there that fits her degree

She followed her husband. The people who founded universities in small towns did not expected professors wives would want to have careers.

127 posted on 04/04/2006 2:29:39 PM PDT by Feldkurat_Katz (What no women’s magazine ever offers to improve is women’s minds - Taki)
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To: oceanview
this article simply reflects a personal example of a broader trend.

I disagree. Whatever the broader trend, her personal experience is based on a very specific set of circumstances. If what you're saying is that certain jobs are location specific (not many jobs for farmers in Manhattan or crab fishermen in Idaho), then that's correct. If what you're saying is that the failure of a PhD chemist to find a job that suits her education in a small community is indicative of any greater trend, you're incorrect.

128 posted on 04/04/2006 2:30:12 PM PDT by Potowmack ("In politics, madame, you need two things: friends, but above all an enemy." Brian Mulroney)
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To: Potowmack
I'm glad someone bothered to look. For the record, Dr. Elva Angelique Van Devender works in Cornvallis according to the WSJ, here.
129 posted on 04/04/2006 2:36:18 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: stainlessbanner
It just doesn't seem right.

The heart of the article. I should have her problems. If she wanted to she could probably get a job at any high school or humbler college in the country. She'd make a lot more than minimum wage. Or, since she thinks being an electrician or plumber is all beer and skittles, she could become an apprentice. But she'll have to get used to being looked down upon by Ph.D.s who make minimum wage, though.

130 posted on 04/04/2006 2:59:16 PM PDT by jordan8
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To: 1rudeboy
The moral of the story is, to paraphrase Dick Armey, "demagoguery beats data."

Thank you for mentioning that. Yes, free traitors love to use demagoguery - mainly their pet phrase, "lower prices to consumers" - to deceive people. The free traitors rely on amateur economist David Ricardo, who came up with flawed ideas but no data.

Again, thank you for reminding me.

131 posted on 04/04/2006 3:11:04 PM PDT by neutrino (Globalization is the economic treason that dare not speak its name.(173))
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To: neutrino
"lower prices to consumers"

And your pet phrase is "higher prices to consumers".

That's a winner!!

132 posted on 04/04/2006 3:15:37 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (Why are protectionists so bad at math?)
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To: neutrino
Sorry, Adam Smith and Milton Friedman for me. Not a huge fan of Ricardo, despite your desperate wishes.

In any case, while we're on the subject of demagoguery, how would you feel if I posted a photo of a dead soldier, say of the Second Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, and claimed he supported my position, would that be demagoguery?

133 posted on 04/04/2006 3:18:14 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Toddsterpatriot
It's the patriotic thing to do. Queue America the Beautiful.
134 posted on 04/04/2006 3:19:52 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: stainlessbanner

I am reading some of the posts on this thread, and it makes me wonder if we all can be reading the same article.

As I read the article, there are three key points: One is that the trades are ignored, another is there are too many advanced degree holders chasing too few opportunities, and still another is that dual career couples find it difficult to satisfy both partners' needs for a fulfilling career.

As an advanced degree holder in the sciences, I have struggled with some of the same issues that this columnist wrote about. Particularly the two-body problem. I applaud her for putting her marriage first, even though it has meant the unraveling of her career in chemistry. Not too many women I know would make this sacrifice. However, it sounds like she is making the best of her situation by going back to school for a career that is in demand all over the country.

My hope for this columnist is that since pharmacy seems to be a better market that in the end she will get a payback on the work she has done. It is sad when a person who has excelled in every competitive situation she has ever faced is denied the opportunity to do the things she does best.

However, what I would like to know is whether or not her point about there being too many degree holders for opportunities is valid. Our politicians don't seem to understand the problem. They still claim that we need more scientists and engineers. And yet many of the engineers I know are finding themselved out-sourced to Asia and India or replaced with cheaper foreigners.

The American Dream? I think not.


135 posted on 04/04/2006 3:53:15 PM PDT by puffgirl
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To: puffgirl
...Our politicians don't seem to understand the problem. They still claim that we need more scientists and engineers....

And we truly do need them. Our technological position in the world really is slipping. The problem is the politicians are not willing to foster an economic environment that would support those engineers and scientists.

It's very much a collective analogy to the person who pisses and whines about their bills, but won't quit using their credit card.

136 posted on 04/04/2006 4:05:31 PM PDT by papertyger (Our Constitution isn't perfect, but it's better than what we have right now.)
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To: 1rudeboy
In any case, while we're on the subject of demagoguery, how would you feel if I posted a photo of a dead soldier, say of the Second Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, and claimed he supported my position, would that be demagoguery?

No, that would be a misrepresentation on your part. But please don't let me stop you - I'll point out that soldiers give their lives for America, but free traitors won't give a dime.

And that, 1rudeboy, is a simple fact.

137 posted on 04/04/2006 4:19:52 PM PDT by neutrino (Globalization is the economic treason that dare not speak its name.(173))
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To: Toddsterpatriot; 1rudeboy
And your pet phrase is "higher prices to consumers".

Nope, I've never used that one; nor do I intend to.

May I offer a helpful suggestion? Try to pattern your remarks on 1rudeboy's. His comments have a greater panache, a certain joie de vivre. And, too, they give me more material to work with.

138 posted on 04/04/2006 4:23:07 PM PDT by neutrino (Globalization is the economic treason that dare not speak its name.(173))
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To: neutrino

So the death of a typical soldier is that much more tragic because Dr. Elva Angelique Van Devender can't find herself a job in Corvallis, Oregon? Or is my heartlessness toward her individual plight what makes that soldier's death tragic?


139 posted on 04/04/2006 4:24:31 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: stainlessbanner

Very interesting. I thought that we needed to import foreign science PhDs because we didn't produce enough here.


140 posted on 04/04/2006 4:25:38 PM PDT by Old_Mil (http://www.constitutionparty.org - Forging a Rebirth of Freedom.)
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