After reading Mike Rose's reading, Blue-Collar Brillance, and Mike Rowe's reading, "Why "Work Smart Not Hard" is the worst advice in the world" while reflecting on what we have read so far in Nickle and Dimed, I was brought back to very familiar subjects.
Many people look down on the librarians all around the United States feeling that those people have no education besides the knowledge of the books they organize. But, it is far from the truth. I volunteered for the library in my neighborhood a year before I began to work there. I learned so much from the people I worked with, but I didn't compare to when I worked there. I worked with the Yeadon Public Library, officially, in two positions before I came to Cedar Crest. I worked as a camp counselor and as a part-time librarian.
When I was a camp counselor, I didn't have to deal with too much discrimination. But, there was a few instincts when parents send their children in as if we were supposed to watch their kids on hand and foot. One day, a parent actually sent their child to camp without a lunch and told us we needed to figure it out because it was our fault. We apparently didn't tell her but it was clearer written in the information to sign up for camp.
I wasn't required to have a certain educational standing, but you needed to know how to present yourself and it was recommended that you have some knowledge about what we were going to do. An example is when we did proper etiquette in a public setting, I've taking etiquette courses when I was younger since it seemed interesting and that allowed me to help the campers better. My payment actually had nothing to do with my experience or education, I was what they could budget in for the students that would be working for them.
But, when I was a librarian, I got more backlash. I've had people tell me I'm an idiot, along with insulting other people who worked in the library. But, what everyone doesn't know, is that everyone at that library was very educated. Whether if it was from collegiate education to experiential education or even a combination. The payment most of the librarians wasn't as much as I believe it should've been. People think librarians just sit in the library all day, but they do much more than that. I didn't need a formal education to work at the library but I can't speak for anyone else. They taught me everything I needed to know and they were always there to answer any questions I had.
I feel a worker should be paid according the quality of work they perform, it is reasonable to consider education level when that is needed for the job at hand, but that should be the only factored acknowledged. Knowledge of the field, quality of work and experience are good things to be taken in consideration when giving respect and payment to an employee.
Concluding, I wholeheartedly agree with Mike Rowe, we as people need to acknowledge ever job as valuable, and we all need to, Work Smart AND Hard. If people didn't look down on so many positions, more people could be employed. A mechanic is just as important as a CEO of a big company, without them both, things would fall apart. Keep that in mind.
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