n
Ecnjcmln Fitn!d:n bc!;cvcd
Iha ecriy b:rd ccis tfto warm.
John CL Acfcms' d;iiy revels
he fell guilty bout going :
cv;;mjTi:ng cr pbyfng pool
Our forcfciuicTO csvo U3 a
work43-vfrtue p!bdn" olh:c
thst m sy bo expsiisnring
revemEl. ,
But for msny iBesons, ths
vc!u3 of a hid day's wcrfc b
dsaply engraved in the modem
American.
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By Terri
WHIson
"Nonattei how much you love your job you sti3 got
to be able to eat enough to do the job. Honey., .always
means a little bit to us-Iets face it.
This is from Gene Landkamer, manager of the local
employment office of the Nebraska Department of Labor.
"Our job system is based on lots of prestige.1
This is from Benjamin Rader, UNL history professor.
Both sentiments partly describe the prevailing Ameri
can work ethic in 1976. Today, the American worker may
value a fast buck or a fun job. He may value success,
wealth or status. A lot depends on his age, background
and type of work.
America, still the land of opportunity, supports a
variety of work attitudes. In Nebraska, part of America's
rich farm belt, the family farm maintains the proud tra
ditional ethic of private enterprise. Hard work and frugal
living are the way of life.
Ask a Nebraskan where the money is, and hell take
you past a hereford feed lot in Mftford or a dairy farm
near Plattsmouth to let you smell it.
Ffeesos camnggf Zsa llssoncst Satiety
Nebraskans hold about as many attitudes toward work
as they da jobs. Lincoln is a mixture of those who hold
to the traditional American dream and those who are re
shaping that dream whatever it is.
IbrcU Fzrenhcltz has ridden around in circles for 20
years. Called "Sam at Cushmaa Outboard Motor Com
pany, he test-drives motor vehicles 7:30 ajn. to 4 p.rru,
l!on. through FrL
He likes his job and won't move up to a higher
position, even though he is a skilled mechanic. He lives -with
his 74-year-old mother, rules to work in carpools and
saves most of his money. - .
PhIT Lebsock has worn an aqua-colored smock for
43 years. She works from 9:30 ajn. to 5:30 pjn. for the
F.W. VooIworth Co. at the 1 1 70 St. store. She holds
stock in the company.
Around Lincoln they call him "Doc." Dr. Glenn John
ston, a semi-retired dentist, has been practicing in an
Ccntssoed on next pae
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Con&iued frosk p.l
The Over-Educated American. In his book he explores the
possible reasons and trends behind the current situation.
In the 1950s and '60s the US. pushed college as a
goal for millions of high school graduates, Freeman says.
The number of graduates with bachelor's degrees increas
ed by 91 per cent, the number of college students tripled,
and the number of master's and PhD. degrees awarded in
creased by over 300 per cent. This massive influx of stu
dents to higher education was partially due to the "sci
ence and technology lag we were losing in the Cold War,
partially to the post-World War II American dream of
affluence for future generations.
in the 70s we began to see the impact "the American
"more-is-better" ethic when teachers flood! the avail
able market and the teaching degree became an almost
commonplace possession of secretaries, derks, and
laborers. PtiD-s in chemistry and other fields began look
ing desperately for any kind of work they were even
remotely trained for. The trends have continued. Most
fields are now glutted with qualified people. R.O.T.C. pro
grams, business and industrial recruiters and enrollments
in certain departments indicate that what students of the
'60s rejected most violently, 1970s students are turning
to. .
Freeman quotes some "typical comments of mid
1970s students and faculty: The bad job market has
really depressed students on this campus." "People are
just stepping all over each other to get these grades. The
kids are worrying about jobs. The competition its fan
tastic. "Chemistry classes are jammed with premed kids
who are willing to cheat, steal, sabotage, or do anything
else it takes to get into medical school..
Another effect of the higher education boom has been
educational inflation. A master's degree has the implied
"job-buying power" a bachelors degree once had. A PhD.
has the former power of a master's. And the bachelor's
has become, in most cases, equivalent to graduating from
high school in the 1930s.
Third Dimension interviewed Dr. Freeman last week
by telephone. He declined to predict the job market in
any specific way, but said, "I really don't expect any
major improvement until 1980. Demography can show
some predictions . . . In the 1980s there will be fewer
college-age children and a resulting decline in numbers of
college graduates. This should open up the market some
what. Freeman said the educational system is changing to
meet new needs.
"Educators are reacting to the changes in the market.
Courses are changing, and there is a trend towards more
junior college and vocational education. I think we've
learned that college is not for everyone. Someone who is
not academically inclined, but who has some non
academic skill, now sees no point in pushing hknself
through the college system. In the I960s a person
couldn't say Tm not going to college.
- "People used to say that the average difference in life
time earnings between a college graduate and someone
who has not gone to college was Si CO to S300JQQQ, but
I believe that this is grossly overestimated. A high school
graduate that starts working four or more years ahead of .
someone going to college makes up any difference in
average income." . .
Freeman said he expects new jobs in agriculture,
computer science and other jobs created by technological
innovation. He said he didn't see any such program as the
1960s space program developing in the near future. , .
A,
tsked if the emphasis on post-graduate degrees from
top schools indicates a plug on upward social mobility,
Freeman replied.
"In one sense, that of formal education, yes, but peo
ple will still be able to gain social rewards for their ability.
Clacks and women still can use higher education as a route
to higher social positions, but I expect the genera trend
to be a leveling ofT.
"A college education still gives a person the advant
age . . . but while it used to get you in the door, it now
gets you into the line to get into the door.
Freeman also commented on the political situation.
Tinder the Nixon-Ford administrations, the real in
come of the American people has not risen at all. It has
been a very funny period. I assume that real economic
growth will reassert itself eventually . "". The Ford
economic policy, I think, is sort of a defeatist policy
realistic defeatism. There has been no effort really to get
out of the problems, because nobody has a workable
:,. ,.Gssasd a cext page
UD8
ning remarks
Sooner or later, all of us will have to go out and
get a job. Well have to toss out our student I.D. cards,
start paying regular admission to concerts and movies
and pack away pounds of college textbooks along
with our memories.
Chances are in these moments of decision upon
graduation, studesis will turn to their parents for
advice. But the working world has changed
enormously since our parents collected their first pay
check. This special issue of Third Dimension is our
attempt to surnarize the currest trends in the job
market sad provMs a profile of work todzy. It h not
a guide to finding a job (there have been enough
articles written about that in recent months). It is
Rther a portrait of whst today's student can expect
to find when hs or she is finely ssttlzd ia the work
force firs, 10, 15, 20 years from near.
Doccssky critics xbousd tcdsy with predictkzs
cf grha fcturcs for cenzs graduates. &hc!cn tzH us
we're oversducited. We have prta spss to thtir
nws,but we also trird to chihds scrse. bnit spc&s.
Included is information sbout specific courses, in
cluding job prospects, future working conditions and
legislation likely to affect it. We included erodes of
recent graduates.
Of course, no one really can predict the future of
something so unpredictable as employment. The
space program of the 1960s, for exarap!e, created
many jobs few persons 23 years earlier ever wash! "
havehnaned.
If you're a freshmza, with four more years of
academic shelter to look forward to, or a senior,'
about to end whsl has seemed like endless prepara
tion for a diz&Lt goal, this supplement vrHl Iy to
you. -
Despite excha2 as3 undergraduates cf re
marks about the "cold, curd work 'cut there,
hiTir ajcb re!y wca't be so bad. Jit tlh& cf the
chvisss besifits: Tfcs losg nfits cf hsrsork wQ
be crer;yo3Bfc ccTcfegthe coney fcrccce;
ycaU have morg'perscrtd isdpeds&e thn ever
before . . .socy hcHo to the TBcd2 redo.
fh DIMENSION
Tha S
n i 'mm
Terry Kccfa
1 g tmZZJT'm
Steves Cccrn::
23 is dished fcrsrf-r t.m
a GEpzse SLTsseat to the DzZrj Hcbrsskza, UNL