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Keith Higgins Professor Lagos ENG 1100 17 September 2013 Career Adaptation As the economy fluctuates, our society changes and inevitably, so do we. Those who fail to recognize this will find themselves in a serious rut in terms of their career success. The economy plays more of a role in our lives and personalities than we may realize. After all most people help define themselves according to their profession which, obviously, is influenced a great deal by the economy. While economies and times have always been changing, in this new age of light speed communication and extraordinary technological development, our economy and corresponding values are shifting like never before. Thus the burden is on individual workers to survive this unprecedented rate of change through the ability to adapt to these altering job markets. Traditional labor values simply will not suffice in most current job markets. Ideals such as loyalty and commitment are losing ground in todays workplaces. While this is more apparent in certain job markets such as business and networking, it can be seen in even the lowest stratifications of employment. During the recession, many long term employees found themselves replaced by temporary position fillers and this trend is still lingering today. One of the most controversial disputes in my towns recent history was the change in the janitor staffing in the public schools. In this case, the most of the permanent janitor staff which had been employed at each of these schools for decades, were fired in the face of education cuts. While some held onto their positions, most of the labor had been replaced by a Hispanic crew that would come in at six oclock in the evening and clean the school once through. Instead of a staff

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dedicated to cleanliness there were now only a handful of janitors to clean up big messes during the day until the cleaning crew came at night. Many of the people in my town were outraged by devastation of the janitors careers and years of commitment. In the end however the new system passed as part of the budget and changes like this occurred all over the country. For me this was a personal indication of where the job market was heading. As Richard Sennett has stated in his scholarly studies, The fastest growing sector of the American labor force, for instance, is people who work for temporary agencies (Sennett 312). The economy is heading in a direction that favors short term labor free of the bureaucracy of worker benefits rather than long term workers who offer loyalty and experience to the companies that they work for. Another trend that is emerging is the number of times a typical persons job will change throughout their life. Following World War Two the baby boomer generation favored a secure job standard that featured protected benefits, prominent labor unions, and government pensions. Employees in this job market model had set careers that they slowly advanced over time changing positions perhaps once or twice. Such was the case for Enrico in Richard Sennetts article No Long Term: New Work and the Corrosion of Character. In this article Sennett outlined the major differences between the careers of Enrico, a janitor who held the same job for decades and his son Rico, a young business man who already moved four times by changing jobs. While Enrico had job security and a set retirement plan Rico has had to change his job position, skill set, and location four times already in his relatively short career. It takes a great deal of adaptation to be able to make such moves between jobs and locations (Sennett). Though most people would assume that the job fluctuation and relocation is an expected part of being a businessman, a similar level of mobility is becoming a part of even the safest occupations. Take the field of psychology for example. Psychology is one of the safest fields in todays job market

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with an unemployment rate of 3.2 % for graduate degree holders (Carnevale Et Al 300). However, after speaking with my psychology professor Dr. Grolly, I have found that this does not mean that this field does not require a deal of job switching, moving, and adaptation. Though she has managed to be employed at all times since she obtained her Masters in counseling and public health, she has had to change jobs four times excluding the two teaching jobs she has done part time. During her twenty seven year career she has also had to acquire licenses for both states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has recently had to acquire a new standard license from the state of New Jersey. In my interview with her she also stressed the changing nature of the field of Psychology in that new research and techniques come out every day and all psychologists have to keep up with the new information. Even though psychology is considered safe from unemployment it is still a field that requires an immense amount of adaptation from its employees. While economies and subsequent ways have life have always been changing, it is now occurring at an unprecedented pace. The economy shapes how we live our lives from the occupations we work in to the places we move to in order to suit our jobs. A rapidly changing economy calls for rapid adaptation to changes in the skills within job fields as well as new demands. Young adults today will find themselves changing jobs numerous times to pursue job markets. This is in direct contrast to traditional ideals of work stressing long term commitment and loyalty that the previous generation has cherished. The very fact that young people are coming into a job world of different ideals already demands an adaptation in work ethic that voids their parents values. Those who cannot adapt will find themselves stuck in lower undesirable jobs as a result of their failure to adjust.

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Interviews Dr. Grolly, Psychology Professor How long have you worked in Psychology? Twenty seven Years. How long have you held your current position? This is my first semester teaching at William Paterson University while I have taught at Felician for six years. What Degrees do you hold? A BA in psychology, a Masters in counseling psychology and a Masters in public health. How many times have you changed jobs? Four times besides my teaching jobs. I now work at the Magellan Institute in quality management. What can you say about your experience in the field of Psychology? Employment is always steady as people are always in need though there has been some downsizing in professional settings in recent years. Its also important to know that in New Jersey as well as most states that psychologists need a state license in order to interact with patients. This license has recently changed to a DSM-IV which required all psychologists to renew their licenses.

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Works Cited Carneval, Anthony Et Al. College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2013. 297-301. Print. Sennett, Richard. No Long Term: New Work and the Corrosion of Character. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2013. 307-315. Print.