module 7

Question 1

is a university degree worth it

Answer 1

• the unemployment rate in 2024 is highest amongst those with no educational credentials (9%) and lowest in those with post-secondary education (5%)
• people with post-secondary credentials, especially university degrees, also tend to have more stable employment with shorter periods of unemployment

Question 2

areas of employment with a university degree

Answer 2

• the majority of post-secondary graduates end up working in a field relatively close to their area of study
• the higher the level of education = the closer their area of employment is to their area of study

Question 3

employment around 1970

Answer 3

beginning around 1970 → pace of globalization accelerated, which resulted in fundamental, structural changes in society that are evident in employment and the labour force

Question 4

income with a university degree

Answer 4

income is lowest in those with no credentials and highest in those with a doctoral degree

Question 5

economic restructuring in 1970

Answer 5

• decrease in manufacturing
• increase in information technology
• increase in the service sector
• decrease in full-time permanent work positions and an increase in part-time and contract positions
• changing requirements of employers

Question 6

decrease in manufacturing - economic restructuring

Answer 6

historically manufacturing jobs were unionized jobs (stable, full-time, good income/benefit employment), making them good jobs to hold

Question 7

increase in information technology - economic restructuring

Answer 7

not lived up to the expectations and promises that growth in IT would offer great jobs

Question 8

increase in the service sector - economic restructuring

Answer 8

• offer a service to people/customers/clients/patients
• can include diverse, higher-status occupations (lawyer, doctors, professor), though the majority tend to fall into lower-status, lower-paid positions (retail, hospitality)

Question 9

decrease full-time, permanent positions - economic restructuring

Answer 9

• offers employers more flexibility to bring on more employees and offer employees more hours during busy times and fewer when it’s slower
• results in instability and uncertainty for workers

Question 10

changing requirements of employers - economic restructuring

Answer 10

• expectation of constant, ongoing training and retraining of employees to meet changing requirements, standards, rules, etc
• makes a person’s ability to learn an attractive, employable skill

Question 11

consequences of a restructured economy

Answer 11

• increased credentialism
• precarious employment

Question 12

increased credentialism as a consequence

Answer 12

employers increasingly require post-secondary credentials even for jobs that don’t necessarily require those credentials to do the job well or entry-level positions

Question 13

precarious employment

Answer 13

employment that offers compensation, hours, or security/stability that is inferior to a “regular” job

Question 14

precarious employment as a consequence

Answer 14

• workers get locked into situations where they have access solely to low-pay
• workplace insecurity in the form of layoffs due to economic deficits, changes within the company based on owners’ priorities, not hitting target income, etc
• volatility in the labour market creates changes in the rhythm and routines of work

Question 15

assumptions that are made about the young adults’ transition to employment in neoliberal democracies

Answer 15

the increased emphasis on ‘occupational choice’, and the idea that ‘young people were encouraged to continuously appraise themselves and their opportunities, to make their next steps accordingly has been criticized

Question 16

sources of career information

Answer 16

participants identified the role of peers, family members, trusted educators and online sources of information about careers throughout their schooling and early experiences in the workforce and higher education

Question 17

confidence in sources of career information

Answer 17

• 67% confidence in listening/talking to someone working in a job you may like
• 61% were confident talking to parents/family
• 62% are confident talking/listening to friends or peers

Question 18

role of peer information and support in career information

Answer 18

• 55% of participants indicated talking to friends or peers about careers
• communal knowledge and asking questions on online forums was a common form of peer support
• another common form of peer support that was observed was directed from older to younger peers

Question 19

examples of how differences across social groups when seeking career advice

Answer 19

• differences in relation to parental support, gender and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status are discussed
• high level of support = significant likelihood of talking to a career advisor or practitioner
• young woman have a higher likelihood of talking to parents or other families

Question 20

late modernity as a challenge for young people in future careers

Answer 20

• the job market is unpredictably changing because of the move towards an innovation economy which is all about inventing
• innovation is happening faster to keep up with the fast changing technology and technological advancements
• if a company fails to innovate it goes bankrupt and if a job can be automated it will be
• technology is disrupting the system and completely altering our lives

Question 21

late modernity as an opportunity for young people in future careers

Answer 21

• adapting to the change and practice different field in ways that will fit in with our changing world
• helps create na entrepreneurial mindset and become creative and innovative
• plan for uncertainty by exercising your entrepreneurial mindset and move away from the traditional mindset of linear thinking

Question 22

3 main areas of an entrepreneurial mindset

Answer 22

1. understanding technology
2. seeking out problems
3. leveraging the strengths they are gifted with and the strengths of others