Reflection 3

 School over Careers..... For the time being...

As I listened to Dr. Caraballo’s lecture, one of the things that came to mind was how would it have been if her husband was the one who decided to quit working and go to school full time? Would it have been as difficult family wise, leaving the burden on her to take care of the kids or would he have been content with quitting his job and forcing his wife to be the breadwinner of the family? I commend Dr. Caraballo for her decisions and on her achievements. I know that finances can put a huge strain on relationships, especially in marriages. I can only imagine the difficulties that followed her decision; but in the end it all seemed worth it. 

As I browsed the web about the topic of women quitting jobs to pursue educational dreams I came across an article in the NY Times titled, “Instead of Work, Younger Women Head to School”. In the article they discuss the fact that women now dominate the scholarly arena, a topic that we have mentioned in one of our previous classes. More and more women are dropping out of the labor force to become better educated although “women still earn significantly less than men.” (Rampell, 2011) Catherine Rampell quotes that, “as women we feel like we have to be more educated to be able to compete in really any field.” (2011) It has been noticed that men are going back to school as well, especially since the economic crisis, however, “In the last two years, the number of women ages 18 to 24 in school rose by 130,000, compared with a gain of 53,000 for young men.” (Rampell, 2011) Jobs in the market place have become less appealing to women and so, they see furthering their education as a better alternative; on the other hand most men are still willing to take these jobs. Director of the Council on Contemporary Families, Stephanie Coontz, mentions that there still lingers a heavy cultural message “that men should be out there earning money and supporting themselves, and they feel more distressed by losing their breadwinner role.” (Rampell, 2011) Therefore they are willing to take the inflexible night shift and weekend jobs that most women deny. According to studies, in the coming decade, women will have an advantage over their male counterparts as it pertains to their educational credentials. This could possibly help the move towards more women in higher paying positions; however, it is still questionable if this will lead to salary gap shrinkages between men and women. 

So as it seems, Dr. Caraballo is not alone when it comes to making the move out of the labor force and into the academic arena. It is obvious that this can be a difficult move, especially when one has a family to support. However, for the younger generations this seems to be the new and more popular route and at this age, much easier. Before families or careers even enter the picture, women are focused on furthering their education, knowing how essential it is living in male dominated workforce. It is good to know that women value their education and understand how important it is to advancing their careers. 

Rampell, C. (2011). Instead of Work, Younger Women Head to School. NY Times. Retrieved on 04 February 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/business/young-women-go-back-to-school-instead-of-work.html?_r=1&