TPC-Journal-V1-Issue1

42 The Professional Counselor \ Volume 1, Issue 1 Misperceptions of the Extent of Change in Occupations The perception that unprecedented change has occurred in occupations is the result of a variety of factors, including: (a) the idea that the magnitude of change between the agricultural and the industrial age was less than the change between the industrial age to the information age, (b) inaccurate information in the public media about change in occupations, and (c) the failure to use career theory in analyzing occupational change. Change Across the Agricultural, Industrial, and Information Ages Technology changes over time have profoundly influenced the lives of individuals, organizations and governments. For example, the steam engine and electricity changed the nature of work from the agricultural age to the industrial age, and the computer has led to the current information age. Some consider the extent of change between the agricultural age and the industrial age as less than or equivalent to the extent of change between the industrial age and the information age. In a discussion of the information age, Watts (1999, p.1) noted, “Robert Reich has called it the ‘second great crossing,’ comparable to the move from the land to the factory.” While this assertion may be true in some respects, the magnitude of these changes is not equivalent in our opinion. First, there was a massive geographic displacement from rural to urban areas in the transition from the agricultural to the industrial age. While relocation of workers still occurs at the present time, it is not on the scale that it was a century ago. Individuals moving from manufacturing to service occupations are often able to obtain employment without physically relocating. Moreover, in many instances it is factories that are moving to locations where labor is cheap. Second, 100 years ago success as a farmer was dependent on having a wide variety of skills. For example, the farmer did the work because it was too expensive to hire someone else to repair machinery. When farmers moved to urban areas and began working in factories, the range of job skills needed declined substantially. Work was simplified and made routine in order to improve efficiency in the factory. While this was not true for all workers, it did create a clear demarcation in the nature of working between the agricultural age and the industrial age. More recently, Friedman (2005) suggested that technology innovations and the global economy now make it possible for individuals to work more independently in a flattened world . The work is accomplished in real time without regard to distance or worker location. While new forms of business organizations and ways of working will lead to occupational changes in the information age, the most important difference today from the past may be simply the rate of change. As aforementioned, we do not see the changes in occupations and work occurring between the industrial age and the information age as having been as dramatic as the changes between the agricultural age and the industrial age. While information technology has increased the speed of change and the increasing complexity of work tasks has required more collaboration among workers, we believe the amount of change in occupations in our contemporary world has been oversold. In all three eras, there were and have been changes in gender roles and relationships, family life, lifestyles, financial income, the kinds of jobs available, ways of working, job training and the diverse characteristics of workers (e.g., ethnicity, disability, and the nature of occupational choices). But, there are still jobs in construction, business and social services, food production, manufacturing, transportation, education, and a host of other industries, and these jobs comprise the occupations that persist in the new age. Public Media Information about Change in Occupations The perception that occupations are undergoing substantive change has been exacerbated by inaccurate information about occupations presented in mass media. The fact that the demand for home health aids, accountants, receptionists and food service workers is growing at 5% is not particularly newsworthy. However, the fact that the demand for robotic technicians is increasing at 50% per year is newsworthy, especially when the story is accompanied by video of a robot performing simple household tasks while the homeowner watches from a corner of the room and comments on how nice it is to have a robot. A brief interview with the robotic technician, stating how exciting and rewarding their job is, reinforces the notion that robotics work is a good option for the future. However, reality presents a different picture.