Krista - Blog 8

Chapter 8 focuses on the transition from school to work. There was a lot of emphasis on job mismatching in relation to the field of study taken in post secondary institutions, and unfortunately, it is a lot more common than it should be. On page 242, there are three types of mismatching that can occur within the work force.

The first type of mismatch that can occur is called job-education mismatch, which is when the education and training do not match the employee’s qualifications. The one that I often hear discussed by involuntary eavesdropping is horizontal mismatch, and this is when the individual’s field of study does not match their job description. A good example of this is when many post secondary students are working on the side of taking their program courses. This is mainly due to need to pay off loans or pay rent if they are not living in a campus residence, among many other important obligations. In my case, I don’t work or have time to work. My band sponsorship gives enrolled students in any post secondary institution what they call “living allowance”, which is equal to a bi weekly paycheque if they were to work. I absolutely depend on this living allowance, since I would never have the means to work or spend time with my son. People often ask me what I do for a living, and my response always is “I’m a student” – need I say more?

Something else that stuck out for me was the discussion on “liberal arts” degrees, and what they mean for people who possess them. To get into the Faculty of Education, it is required that students have one undergrad degree before they apply to the faculty. I understand what the implications mean for students, but I have to question whether these are useful at all in terms of the stream you teach? Alone, a Bachelor of Arts degree is not sufficient enough for most minimum wage jobs because many jobs depend on experience. I often hear debates on whether education vetoes job experience, or vice versa. I always wonder why they are not equally important when looking for jobs, since many university and college students need jobs to live while they are in university.

A lot of people have discussed the 5 key transitions to adulthood. When I compare my life path to others’, I have done things a little bit backwards, and I’ve conquered at least 3/5 of them. I am thinking this list is just a baseline of criteria and not something people should check off with a grain of salt. What defines an individual as an adult is subjective to judgment by others because not everyone matures emotionally and mentally at the same rate.