Posted on 04/04/2006 9:58:28 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
My husband jokes that I should have been an electrician. In this age of outsourcing and job insecurity, the trades seem to us to be the best professions of the future. To be sure, most aren't glamorous and are often physically demanding. But a number seem to have financial security and stability, and their job portability doesn't hurt, either. Many of us white-collar employees don't get to choose where we will live; we must go wherever our employer requires us. Many folks in the trades can command a good income, choose their own hours, and put down roots in a community and stay as long as they choose. I wish I had this luxury.
Both my husband and I are Ph.D. chemists. I'd once wanted to be an opera singer. I come from a long line of writers and musicians, but I had the (mis)fortune of being good at science. In college, the thinking was that the sciences (and an advanced degree) would guarantee me some sense of employment security. Pursuing opera would subject me to the unemployment line, I thought, at least until my career took off. I could sing on the side, but by making medicines that make people well, I could make a meaningful difference in the world.
I could never have predicted the difficulties that I'd face. I followed my husband from Virginia (where we went to graduate school) to Maine, where my husband found a job, and then to Oregon, where we live now. In Maine, I was out of work for almost a year. I went to four temp agencies before I found one that would place me. I was turned away from administrative-level positions because I didn't have "admin experience." I worked retail and part-time jobs. Eventually, I learned to leave my Ph.D. off my resume, which helped me land my first serious job. It didn't pay well, but at least it was serious.
When we moved to Oregon, where my husband had accepted another job, and I found myself interviewing again. I worked for a biotech company, handling their patents and licenses, but this company didn't care about my expensive chemistry degree. I now work at an advertising agency where I (Shhh!) barely earn above minimum wage. The agency ran an ad for the assistant position I now hold and received 60 applications the next day.
It just doesn't seem right. I was valedictorian of my high-school class of 600, summa cum laude from my university, and graduated with distinction from graduate school. And none of this seems to have made the least bit of difference in helping me to build a career. At age 30, I feel grateful to have a job at all, because there are few in my part of Oregon.
My situation is hardly unique. My husband and I know plenty of people with advanced degrees (Ph.D., MS, J.D., and MBA) who have had this problem. In many cases, it's the "two-body problem," where both spouses hold advanced degrees. For some, it's because they choose to live in smaller cities, where opportunity is limited. But often it seems as if the job market isn't able to absorb all the advanced-degree holders at the pace colleges and universities are churning them out. Where are all these people going to work?
I am planning to go back to school this fall. Another doctorate. I have decided to make use of my Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry and become a pharmacist. I still dream of being able to make my own destiny, to carve my own path. A person of some intelligence who worked hard and had the right attitude used to be able to do that. Right now, my Ph.D. and $3.65 gets me a Cinnamon Dolce Latte at Starbucks, and not much more.
My dad often used to say, "Life does not reward us for efforts expended." I have learned the hard way that there are no guarantees in life, and that you can have all the determination in the world, and sometimes the opportunities just aren't there.
In this new world order, where jobs of every stripe are outsourced, and job security or opportunity can be a scarce commodity, one could do a lot worse than to be a electrician.
Credentials do not guarantee a good job. Work ethic and the desire to be successful does in my opinion. The but I am above those people and should make more crowd may have not put the effort into their job that the seemingly lower blue collar worker did.
I believe that college can waste someones time and money if they are not focused on a worthwhile practical goal.
There is an education industry in this country that feeds itself. It is way too expensive, way too much nonsense taught having nothing to do with what someone needs to know for their career, and I dont even have to explain the political bias we all know.
I've been through similar; my whole life growing up everyone said go into science and you'll have a wonderful career... but the truth is that the US employment base is not focused on technology development or science for profit, it is focused on services... There aren't enough careers for all these scientists, the best bet is to look for the number one employers-- the federal government or academia... for those who detest socialism in all it's forms, this makes for tough choices. She could try to start her own business, but since her education didn't prepare her for that it may not be as easy as it sounds. I do wish our education system counselled students on the reality, rather than what they think is best for society. My best friend (PhD ten years, over a hundred scientific publications in molecular biology, brilliant man and EXTREMEMLY hard working) just turned forty two and has never made over $38,000 a year... reminds me of Germany before the war... the train conductors and factory workers made 4 to 5 times as much as PhD's, which led to a new kind of socialism for the educated class; the "betters" to oversee the "workers"-- you and I know it as National Socialism... my point being a disaffected professional class and/or middle class historically has led to ruinous forms of government.
On this one you're wrong. There is a large demand for Pharmacists and it's expected to get worse.
The key statement (IMO) in the article is:
" But often it seems as if the job market isn't able to absorb all the advanced-degree holders at the pace colleges and universities are churning them out"
The fact is that the US is cranking out way too many PhDs. The demand's just not there. A few departments know this and take students every other year, but most just rake in the $$ from the state/fed govt and save a TON of money getting teachers on the cheap.
You'd like this one A.Pole.
If nobody wants to pay you to do what you're trained for, you should probably look into doing something else.
Bingo! Diversification.
I have a degree in Medieval History and am academically qualified for only one possible career in the United States - teaching Medieval History.
But I retrained myself on my own for the real job market and I'm doing quite well.
This woman's whining is pathetic. If you have a working brain you can get a good job in the US. Unless you're lazy.
An overspecialized education is a guarantee of perpetual employment woes. Her problem is that she probably does not want to go to work for a petrochem co or a defense contractor where her chemistry degree would have wider application. I have worked with guys with a Phd in nuclear physics who had specialized in weapons making, but decided that there was more of a future in power plants. The same with guys who had graduate degrees in Chemical Engineering working in the power industry.
Either that or a matter of him not knowing what he wanted to be when he grew up. :)
Your has a lot of talent, what gets me is if someone cannot secure and hold a job as a chemist what makes them think they can be a plumber, carpenter or a mason?
"Holy smoke, where did all those roofers come from?"
We are discussing what she should have done in the first place, not what she should do now. If you can put up with living in New York or London for a while, the demand for big-brained people is considerable: Quantitative Analytics jobs
Yes, my son is fortunate to be talented in many areas, but I understand what you're saying. There needs to be a much higher regard for those careers without which this country would fall apart.
And there you go. I'm a freelance softare engineer, successfully and gainfully self-employed, working on custom software projects for a large corporation out of the comfort of my own home.
And all the "creds" I have are a high school diploma. With a little bit of talent, some luck, lots of self-training and a larger amount of personal initiative, there is plenty of opportunity out there.
I gather you don't believe in punctuation. Your comment was a bit difficult to follow -- but I got it -- after two or three reads.
Good, you get an A for effort.
This really makes me wonder about this person's decision to get a PhD, which shouldn't be a degree you just blindly pursue. With such an advanced degree in chemistry, you'd better be in parts of the country that value it--pharmaceuticals on the East Coast, the defense industry, West Coast R&D, etc.
There are places in this country where her degree is valued, but she can't just show up in Anytown, USA, wave her sheepskin, and expect to be hired.
Even still, I would expect that with a little resourcefulness, she could live just about anywhere, and write, or consult with other companies and projects.
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