According to a paper published by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) one of the things that is creating the divide between the poor and the middle class is a lack of clear career path. In a paper published by Laura Dresser and Joel Rogers, claims that part of the issue with the current economic inequality is that jobs are now based on informal social networks and that clearly defined career paths and clearly defined job skills inventories are not as prevalent in today's work environment as they were in WWII manufacturing facilities.
Dresser and Rogers claim that the career ladder has collapsed due to job redesign, cross-functional training and over-all de-structurization of the work process.
While I agree somewhat with Dresser and Rogers' assessment, I see a disturbing trend. The trend is taking the accountability for a career path off the employees. It seems that frequently people are expecting others to map out their life course for them.
For example, I was sitting in an English class about a year ago and the students were explaining the topics for their term papers. One of the students stood and talked about how she felt that whoever decided what each job was worth should hold that job before deciding on what wage that job should earn. She was under the mistaken impression that some government agency was responsible for setting wages. The teacher agreed with her and them proceeded to ask the class who had been paid what they thought they should be paid. I was the only person to raise my hand.
The teacher was shocked that I raised my hand and asked me how I had been paid what my labor was worth. It seemed an odd question to me. I had gone to the firm I was working for at the time and showed them how much money I had saved them in the past year. I asked for a percentage increase based on what I had made for the company and negotiated a better wage for myself.
A career path is my accountability. It should not rest on a government agency. It should not rest on a company's shoulders. The interesting thing is that the paper by Dresser and Rogers outlines several companies who became partners with their employees. Together the employer and employee mapped out options that would meet the needs of both. Together they excelled and became industry leaders.
Interesting...when I take accountability for my life and choices I end up in the career and on the path I outline.
