Chapter 1 Thoughts
Although I was initially apprehensive about how captivating Chapter 1
would be, I found I read it quickly and found it very compelling. I was thrilled to see the intertwining of
American history, specifically social factors, and how they influenced career
development. The chapter made me think
of two things: (1) History of military testing and discrimination in America
and (2) my Mom’s career autobiography.
For an undergraduate
paper I explored the biases to the IQ test used by the military in World War
I. I don’t want to rewrite the entire
paper, but the basic flaw in the exam was the lack of accounting for test
takers from different backgrounds (racially, geographically, SEC-based,
etc.). For example, a question may be
multiple choice about a piece of farm equipment. While the test creators (most likely all
educated, white males) may have found the answer obvious, how would a military
recruit from inner-city Philadelphia know the answer? They were likely to answer incorrectly, and
therefore score lower on the exam. This
chapter made me realize how that likely effected millions of Americans career
trajectories! Additionally, this exam “lead
to the explosion of test an inventory development,” (Brown, 2016, pg. 4). Today, the military has improved their
testing strategies. They now administer
the ASVAB, which they market as a vocational aptitude test. In the high school I worked at, all students
were required to take the exam! I was a
part of the interpretations and it was very interesting to see the students get
their results and explore their website for what careers best suit them.
The second major
thought I had while reading Chapter 1 was the career biography of my Mom. She nor her siblings were encouraged to attend
college, as their parents had not either.
In fact, her father hadn’t even made it to high school. This is discussed in Chapter 1 where Brown
refers to Status Attainment Model, which “attitudes about education and
occupations, is transmitted through family, influencing educational attainment,
and, ultimately, earnings.” (Brown, 2016, pg. 21). After
graduating from high school, my Mom got a job at a factory. She worked there for over 30 years, until she
fell victim to the global economy shifting and technology increasing. Brown points out that the global economy in particular
hut manufacturing workers in the United States (Brown, 2016, pg. 17). The shut her plant down, and she was left to
find a new job in 2010 with only factory experience and no college
education. She decided to go back for a short program to
become a CNA, which is what she currently does.
She works in an adult daycare and finds her work very meaningful and
aligned with her values. I am very happy
for her and proud of her, although there is something to be said that she earns
less as a CNA than she did at her manufacturing job, but that’s another issue
for another time!
References
Brown, D. (2016).
Career
information, career counseling, and career development, (11th ed.). Chapel Hill,
NC: Pearson.
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