Why do People Work?

Why do people work? Is it just to put food on the table and money in our wallets?  I hope not. I hope if I have surgery the doctor holding the knife is not just doing it for a mammoth paycheck.  But how can we be sure?  

“When I grow up I want to be,” we have all said it, asked it, and answered it. For most people sadly, it is just a way to pay the bills and to purchase the goods and services we crave. But when I think back to when I was in the  first grade and was asked this very question, my answer was to be the first female president. Did I answer I want to be the first female president so there would be money in my wallet and food on my table? Absolutely not.   I answered it because my parents told me I could be anything I wanted to be.  

But is that really true? Today, can we truly be anything we want to be? Sadly, I do not think we can. I think along the way life happens. From an early age, we observe the world around us. We learn the difference between poor and rich. Social status starts to dictate who we surround ourselves with. We do not become equals anymore.  I think this is where we as a society begin to disappoint each other. We transition back to idea that we work to put food on the table and cash in our wallet. We forget the possibilities of life are endless.  

I believe we have the education system to blame for this. Teachers are required to spend time on geometry and the solar system.   They run out of time to teach the most important skill, critical thinking. Tests become multiple choice, true and false, black and white. I believe the generations to come are going to look at the career development in  the same way they have been forced to look at a scantron sheet, “select one and shade in darkly.” 

The statistic “more than two thirds of all workers would seek more information about jobs if they started over again” (Brown, 2012, pg. 17). This statistic should be plastered on the walls of America’s high schools and universities.   This is the proof that our system of education is failing our future generations. We did not get a chance to look at our options, play the field, or change our mind. In ten years, I hope I am not shading in the scantron  sheet “unhappy,” about my career.  

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development, 10, New York: Pearson.