Over the last year, I have been working with my friend Brad Wilcox at the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) on a report exploring the relationship between social class, work, and family formation.
What's amazing to me is that among even the college-educated men, only 56% met all the good job criteria ($60k, stable, insured). That's horrendous, after we consider what people once expected a college degree to deliver -- though that was perhaps their mistake, because what the degree mostly *signalled* something that middle class people could never attain, even after they got the degree. And how much worse when the degree is now standard, and some men don't get one.
I wonder about other exceptions within non-college-educated type jobs, that are nonetheless very specialized and high-paid.
JM- One point of clarification is that this includes ALL men even those who choose to work part time or are voluntarily out of the labor force. Part time plus out of labor force represents around 25% or so of the total population of prime working age men. But your point is still quite valid.
What's amazing to me is that among even the college-educated men, only 56% met all the good job criteria ($60k, stable, insured). That's horrendous, after we consider what people once expected a college degree to deliver -- though that was perhaps their mistake, because what the degree mostly *signalled* something that middle class people could never attain, even after they got the degree. And how much worse when the degree is now standard, and some men don't get one.
I wonder about other exceptions within non-college-educated type jobs, that are nonetheless very specialized and high-paid.
JM- One point of clarification is that this includes ALL men even those who choose to work part time or are voluntarily out of the labor force. Part time plus out of labor force represents around 25% or so of the total population of prime working age men. But your point is still quite valid.