Personally, I will not tolerate disrespect no matter what my level of education is. Nor would I disrespect others under any circumstance. However, the more education I have, the less disrespect I will tolerate.
So at age 13, I was so excited to work that I did not really evaluate how I was being treated. I was treated as a laborer, nothing less or more. As I got older and more experienced, I expected wages to match my capabilities and definitely was aware when I was disrespected.
In time, I realized that no matter how much experience I had, I was still treated as a nobody because I did not have the education. That is when I realized that higher education made a difference in how others viewed and ultimately, treated me. This led me to return to school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
At my current place of employment, I am very much aware of the difference, not only in pay, but in the level of respect given to those with advanced degrees. I believe they are treated like royalty, while others, blue collar employees (like myself) are treated like peasants. For example, the engineers at my job will not even consider the input of the HVAC technician when planning a project. They appear to have the notion that our input is insignificant to the planning of any project. However, when failure occurs after the project is complete, we are very much consulted and viewed as important.
Unfortunately, society views educational level as very important in determining pay and respect. Realistically, I believe that educational level should be a major determining factor in salary compensation, but not respect. Respect is something that should be given to all employees across the board, whether you sweep the building or manage the building.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI think this is very interesting! When you read Mike Rowe, you will probably have a lot to say about the idea of education, respect, and why people do the jobs that they do.
Eileen
Wow!!! Simply put I enjoyed you're post on here. I completely agree with you on the fact that respect should be given no matter what position the employee holds. I loved the picture you have on here, "Respect give it, to get it!" I look forward to more of your posts.
ReplyDeleteMIKE! I really enjoyed reading your post on here. It makes absolute sense to what your saying. I bet anyone working can relate. Your older and wiser then me yet, your still at a young age. You made a great decision going back to school, and its nice having you in class.
ReplyDeleteI totally agreed with what you were saying here. And I can kinda see that for myself too, now that I'm in college I see and accept things differently then I did when I was only say in high school.
ReplyDeleteMike, you are absolutely correct!! Respect is something you earn with actions not with education. I think maybe the people with the education may find it hard to give out the respect to someone like yourself cause they feel threatened by the good work someone else can accomplish without having the education. I run into the same thing in my job as I am a manager with no higher level education managing people 10-20 years my senior. They sometimes don't take too lightly to an uneducated "youngster" telling them how they should do their job. But I have rightly earned my position with hard work and dedication regardless of my age or schooling. So keep your head up and tell them to stop being jealous :)
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that respect should always be given and not based on just your education. Education shouldn't give someone a reason to look at you or treat you any differently than other employees.
I enjoyed your writing. I like this sentence" I believe that educational level should be a major determining factor in salary compensation, but not respect."
ReplyDelete