For a long time now I have always worried about my chances of entering a career I enjoyed that had a big pay packet. I don't want to end up with job like the ones my parents have (mum - cleaner, dad - predominately unskilled work for agencies, step dad - window cleaner though he did used to be a teacher which I think is a pretty admirable job). There's nothing wrong with these jobs but I want more and I'm not very good at cleaning anyhow. I, like many people, went to state school and a sixth form college, both of which I'm very fond of but as you grow up you realise that having this kind of education means you have to work twice as hard as those who are privately educated to get into the best universities and then go on and get the best jobs. Statistics prove that those that are privately educated occupy the top jobs (doctors, politicians, heads of the top companies, barristers, journalists etc - professionals if you like). The recent BBC 2 documentary, Who gets the best jobs? explored this. Even though I knew the majority of the content already due to studying inequalities extensively in my sociology A-level class, it did ignite something in me (I'm a sucker for a documentary, they leave quite an impact on me) - motivation! But also at the same time it made me incredibly depressed!
Over the past couple of years anyone who inspires me or even just occupies a high position (generally in the fields of journalism, politics and the arts) I google them to find out where they attended university or if they went at all, it has become somewhat of an obsession, a very weird obsession. And for a long time one of my "working class heroes" has been Alan Johnson (above), he left school at fifteen and worked as a postman and rose up though the trade unions into politics. I was very upset when he resigned from front bench politics, who's going to be my working class pin up now? Aye? Well I have found other examples during my time as an investigator into successful people's backgrounds such as the current editor-in-chief on British Elle, Lorraine Candy - she left school at sixteen and entered journalism working for her local paper. Though examples like this a few and far between, the fashion industry is dominated by the privately educated too from the current editor in chief of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman to the new creative director of Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton. Now the fashion industry isn't one I want to enter (not that I'd turn an offer to be a fashion journalist down ha...journalism would be my chosen career if I could choose, I know I don't particularly demonstrate the best writing skill or style on my blog but practice helps right?) but many do and I suppose I just wish everybody had access to the same opportunities and I know that's impossible really but I hope the gap between the haves and the have nots shrinks a little or a lot...There are other problems to do with the world of jobs I have such as the decrease in our manufacturing industry but that's another subject for another rant, another time...
(image - google images)
