Which Education Do You Need to Work for Education? - Thinking about Working Class Jobs

Hello again!

I don’t know how about you, but I for myself don't have a degree to work by now. However, soon I will hopefully get it, so even now there are some things to think about…

I am planning to graduate as an early childhood educator from a four-year-college in Germany. This certificate in Germany means something different then what an early childhood teacher would be in the United States. In Germany it is more like a social worker specialized on children. If you want to be a teacher, you have to study something else. With my degree, for example you can work as a child care worker. However, if you want to work in this position you actually don’t need a degree from a four-year-college, but from a vocational school. This is what makes this job a working class job - not well paid, and rarely valued in society. Teachers, on the contrary, are mostly seen as appreciated professionals. Due to the fact that a lot of other countries in Europe have child care workers with a college-degree, Germany tries to change this, and came up with my course of studies. My degree differs from that of child care workers in professionalizing the view of and work with children.
So after my graduation, when I am going to begin working in a child care center as I wish to, I will be in a position of a working class job with the knowledge of a college degree. The questions will be: Am I better qualified for that job than the people with the vocational education? Should I be paid more?

Probably I paid more than they did for my education, although the vocational schools are very expensive, too. Still, most of the work I will do, will be same work they do. Only my perspective and background knowledge in special cases should be different.
Of course, I hope that I will be valued for my work, also in payment, because the reasons I chose college education were that you gain specific knowledge of formal education, which I knew was my way of learning, and expressing my proficiency, and you usually can earn more money.

From my experience in internships and temporary jobs until now, I was mostly treated as everybody else, and interest was shown to my ideas, even without a degree yet. I hope that this will stay the same, when I begin to work with maybe different pay. I really don’t want to compete, I want to enrich my work, but I’m aware that this still could happen.

http://www.cafepress.com/+child_care_provider_tote_bag,261135215

Anyway, I think that my future colleagues should certainly get more respect and regard for their work. I agree with Rose (2012) that people in working class jobs like this show multiple skills, big knowledge and proficiency. That’s why they should earn a lot of esteem, and not be viewed as less intelligent if they are good in what they are doing. If they even do something outstanding like Rose describes about his uncle, they should be valued for that in specific. 

Skills, knowledge and proficiency should determine your appraisal, regard and wages. 
Independent from your degree, you should be valued and respected for the work you are doing. This is why I also concur with Rowe (2013) that you should and need to work smart and hard. And when you do this, you can and should get good money in working class jobs, too, as some people are very good at what they are doing, and don’t need a college degree for this. Still, I think that it is good to professionalize some jobs, too, like it is done with mine, and give people the opportunity to connect their experience with some formal education. College can help you to better show your skills and knowledge, and improve them. It also gives you the possibility to be promoted, and enables you to take more responsibility. This, for example, should from my point of view make you earn higher wages. College is definitely not necessary, and made for everyone, but like Rose (2012) says, it can be a “means of fulfillment” (2012, p. 246). For me it was, and is.

At this point I want to end with a little anecdote from my mother. She achieved a college degree of early childhood education similar to mine back when she lived in Poland. She had 15 years of experience, and was and still is really good at her work, as I can prove. However, when she came to Germany, her degree wasn’t accepted - not even as a child care worker for which, like I said, you only need a certification from a vocational school. After she raised me and my two younger brothers, she was looking for a job, but couldn’t find one in her former field of work without a degree. Luckily, she could work in a home for the elderly WITHOUT having any degree for this work. She learned all she needed, and is very passionate about her work. Her team values her, and she loves her team and the elderly people. The payment could be better, but that’s how it goes with all the social employments…

So for her this is the right place now. And this is how things are sometimes going - ignoring, or not valuing your degree on the one side, but appreciating your skills on the other.

For my part, I am happy about my education, and excited where it will lead me. I am glad I could choose my way, and hope it will help me use my proficiency. Still, like my mother showed me, your degree doesn’t predict anything, your work and personality should do, whether you are in a working class job or not.

I wish you all the best with all of your degrees and jobs!

Yours,

GermanGirl.115

References:

Rose, M. (2012). Blue-collar brilliance. In Graff, G., Birkenstein, C. & Durst, R. (Ed.), They say I say: The moves that matter in academic writing (2^nd ed.) (pp. 243-255). New York, NY, London, UK: W. W. Norton.

Rowe, M. (2013). Why “Work smart, not hard” is the worst advice in the world. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/why-work-smart-not-hard-is-the-worst-advice-in-the-world-15805614