College Publisher Test Site

Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Opinion

Recently, a television report detailing a current social phenomenon caught my eye. According to the report, although our nation is facing an economic downturn and many young adults leaving college are finding it difficult to find stable employment, there are many untapped career opportunities out there. It just happens that the collar they would be wearing would not be as white as expected.

While I find it hard to believe that blue-collar jobs are as vastly abundant as the report seemed to portray, it did make a valid point. Many of the so called "white-collar" industries around the nation are being forced to lay off large percentages of their employees, due to revolutions in technology, outsourcing, and overall lack of funds. In these industries, where veteran workers with years of experience are being fired with little notice, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the college graduate to find even the lowest paying job in their intended field of work.

Thus many graduates are faced with the tough decision between remaining unemployed in hopes of a positive shift in the job market or instead look into other options of employment. It just so happens that while jobs in the white collar industry are on the downturn, many so called "blue collar" jobs, such as those in the manufacturing or technical fields, are on the rise.

While these job opportunities may be more accessible to college graduates, many find it extremely difficult to take a hold of them, believing in some way that they are below their capabilities.

As a college student myself, I can truly sympathize with this sentiment. I understand that many blue-collar workers may find my viewpoint disrespectful and I would have to agree with that as well. It is extremely ignorant of our generation to think that just because a job is labeled as blue collar that it should be beneath us. There are many merits to jobs in these fields. Graduates can learn to work in a more hands on environment then they are used to, as well as gaining experience in a multitude of different technical skills. Most importantly, the students will be able to achieve a respectable income to help drag themselves out of the never ending pit of student loan payments.

Regardless of their merits, it is still useless to convince most college students that they may have to work in a field beyond their comfort zone. But just take a quick look at the current state of our society and it is should be simple to understand why we think this way.

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