Blog Post #1 Class and Education

      In today's society high school counselors, parents, college recruiters and companies are encouraging higher education to advance financially and thrive economically. What isn't taken into consideration is the cost the government is putting out for the students to go to school, with the hopeful return of that money. However, with the cost of education and the low probability of that individual getting placed in a job right after graduation so high, it potentially endangers trillions of dollars of student loans going into debt collections. With this alarming data, it raises the question is higher education really worth the price tag or is it possible to make a living without that abundant expense?
     I, like many teenagers, started out as a fast food employee to pay my bills through high school with the intention of starting college in the fall preceding graduation. However, I pondered the previous question to the point that I decided to wait until I knew what I wanted to do with my life. My mother wasn't so pleased with my decision and told me I had three months to move out and learn what the real world was like. With no educational specialization beyond a high school diploma, I sought out with eager eyes the ways of the world.
     I worked at jobs that most people would find unfavorable and "lower class" to  make ends meat, so to speak. With no education or certification, I should feel grateful for any job opportunity according to some professionals. Treatment in these jobs by employers were, needless to say, unfavorable the majority of the time. Being viewed as replaceable, inferior, and some managers would use their staff as 'emotional punching bags' when they had a rough day. Although, coworkers of mine at these jobs would bond together in camaraderie to get through each passing day. This brings to question whether education level should dictate the level of respect and pay given to the worker.
     In my opinion, I believe that respect is a two-way street in order for things to go smoothly in the workplace. I do believe, however, pay should go according to the education an individual has for that specific job. Education, to me, is not dependent on a degree stating your knowledge, but on-the-job training for a specific responsibility shows eagerness and interest in advancement without the financial burden. I think that if more companies made  this a feasible option, that more employees would seek out such opportunities.

Interview of Erin Baxter

      Erin Baxter, a junior at Cedar Crest College and mother to the beautiful little girl in the picture, has always liked the idea of molding her own future and breaking tradition in a sense. She has joined the United States Army, ran a liquor store successfully, moved across country for schooling and had her beautiful daughter a year later.
       When asked what makes Business as the best major suited for her, Baxter relates her experience as running a liquor store for five years and then decided that she would like the formal education to help with job advancement in the future.
       How did she end up at Cedar Crest? Erin tells, "While I lived in Arizona, I came here (to Pennsylvania) to visit my grandma. Over a luncheon she strategically had me enrolled for CCC. I was unaware that is was an all girl's school." Then asking if she were to choose another major which would be your most likely and least likely choice. She replies, " Criminal psychology as my best choice. I always liked those investigative shows on television, and I think I'd be good at it. My worst would probably be Nursing. My mother was an emergency room nurse and seeing her come home every night exhausted made me realize that I would not like to do something like that."
      Erin, has the drive and ambition to give her daughter the best there is out there and will continue loving her growing family for years to come. "Family is very important to me!" says Baxter.