Carole Colter To Whom It May Concern: I recently received a letter from The State of Tennessee, Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation regarding my Tennessee Student Assistance Award. http://www.tn.gov/collegepays/mon_college/tsa_award.htm
This is a state needs based grant program that helps students financially with acquiring a college education. The letter stated that due to a greater number of Tennessee residents attending in state colleges this year, they are reducing the award amounts. I believe this is to accommodate the influx of non- traditional students who have previously been employed in the workforce and due to the economic recession and rising unemployment rate, are finding financial security and hope for future employment in either completing a bachelor’s degree or returning to specialize in a master’s degree program. This link outlines the current unemployment rate per state. http://bit.ly/5WFP2W
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics provides past and current information on most national labor statistics: http://www.bls.gov/
Many current students have been encouraged to prolong their degree programs, or if possible upon graduation to continue into a more specialized or professional degree program due to the lack of jobs available in a highly competitive economy.
My concern is a broad based analysis that with so many adults returning to college after years of experience in the work force, that this will have severe long-term repercussions on our economy and youth. I am wary that many students upon completion of their degrees will return to the workforce to only have the availability to be employed in jobs that they will be over qualified for, creating dissatisfaction and resentment. Our current economic market will change but will the jobs be available to the newly over saturated market of educated employees or will the same jobs that were cut, be open once again only leaving an employment opportunity that was previously filled by the same person, who now has more student loans and is over qualified? It is projected that upon the retirement of the baby boomer generation that there will be an increase in jobs available in certain labor markets such as nursing, human resources and an increase in public administration due to processing of social security, Medicare and government policies and programs, but will this generational retirement also leave open job opportunities for the newly educated, and can we really count on that? Many baby boomers are working past retirement age and many companies are finding ways to continue to employ aging workers into job sharing programs and incentive programs to reduce turnover and to avoid "new hire" costs.
Will extending the state and federal funding to older students cost the high school graduates their opportunities to financial aid awards or employment after graduation? In the eyes of corporate staffing, if more people are educated with undergraduate degrees it decreases the value of the high school diploma, and if more are educated with a Master’s degree, it decreases the value of the undergraduate degree. More jobs are requiring a Master’s degree whereas 10 years ago, they may not have.
What hope do we have for our citizens who only have the opportunity to achieve a high school diploma? How do we place significance on that achievement if it will be very difficult for them to get a job that could earn a wage to support themselves or to feel pride and confidence in the work they acquire?
I believe the economy is effecting us in ways we have yet to understand or consider and I am very concerned that the increase in adult students into our universities and the necessity of increasing educational degree programs will have significant long lasting effects on our nation as a whole, economically and socially. I believe that federal and state funds should be invested in job creation and not resource juggling to accommodate newly unemployed workers who have limited income opportunities other than returning to school. The issue with unemployment in the economy is not that we are not educated enough to do our jobs, but that there are no jobs to be had.
I can only hope that the belief in the market righting itself, will only extend to the other facets of society it has affected.
I currently work as a District Merchandising Supervisor for Coca-Cola Bottling of Memphis.
ReplyDeleteA portion of my staff includes 11 newly hired part-time direct reports.
They range in age from 21-45 years of age.
I have one retired military, 4 honorably discharged military with some college, 2 with Bachelor's Degrees, and 4 currently attending some form of higher education.
They work for me part-time because they could find nothing else.
You are right to be concerned...it is a reality. I am concerned as well, however in this country anything is possible with hardwork and dedication.
Though discouraging, no economic condition can destroy the dreams and desires we all hold true.
Patience and Consistency always wins...at the end of the day--HOW BAD DO WE WANT IT?
Success is never easy, but Americans have proven time and again that "The Juice is Worth the Squeeze".
Carole – I find your article interesting. You’ve made many good points however, I am not quite certain as to what you find to be fair and equal in a society that is becoming more and more educated. Our ability to become more educated allows our country to be more competitive on the international market. Being an older student, a Baby Boomer, I was told by my guardians in 1960 getting a high school diploma was a given, however, in a few years it would be common place and if I wanted to succeed I needed to prepare myself for higher education. Yes, many are returning to school to get higher degrees and it very may put some high school graduates in a dilemma, but education is available for all who desire to have it. Yes, some are returning because of economic reasons because the economy does not always avail itself to employment. I may have misunderstood some of your statements and I will apologize if that is the case. However, I find it unfair for me to spend time getting another degree, or for some it may be their first degree, and then be told it is not a positive move. There will always be those with more education than the next. Many Baby Boomers are staying on their jobs longer because employers are finding some Boomers have taken their skills, experiences and education and applied it in a manner the X and Y Generations have yet to master. Example: I learned to type on a manual typewriter, then the electric typewriter, then the word-processor and then the computer. Working in a typing pool for many years prepared me in many ways. I learned to spell, string a sentence together and my grammar, although not perfect, is beyond passable. That being said, if my computer spell-check does not work, I can catch the mistake and correct it. For many X and Y Generation if the spell-check does not work, they rarely catch it. As an Executive Administrator for many years, many of my younger staff could not spell and their grammar was scary. For those with skills, through experience and/or education, the world will always attempt to find room for them. Years ago, if you were an older worker or applicant, your chances of surviving in the workplace or getting the job was very slim. Employers are finding in this economy, Boomers have less days of absences; we do not have family, especially child illness, issues, etc. Technology was not our first language as it is for these new generations; we’ve worked hard and succeeded. These generations need to get busy and be in place to take over positions that will open when we retire. It’s not if, we will eventually retire with the confidence of knowing we left the place better and pray that the tradition will be carried on. Have no fear this is a good thing. EJ
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