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Generational differencesNear retirementAge is not
always a clear-cut measure of where a respondent falls in his/her life stage.
For example, some respondents in their late thirties and early forties
were already thinking and talking about retirement while others were still
firmly established in careers. For older respondents, the assumption that it is normal to
finish high school was often a false one; high school graduation was not the
norm for many folks who left school twenty-five or more years ago.
Significantly, many rural respondents withdrew from school at an early
age to help with farm responsibilities. We
had to work. I was raised on a farm
and we had dairy cows. Some had the
opportunity [to finish school] and some didn’t.
Back in them times, people raised crops and they depended on crops and they kept us home a whole lot, you know, working in crops. That’s one reason we didn’t get our school finished, ‘cause when we come of age, well, then we stayed home and worked. They needed us. For respondents of this generation, leaving school early
often did not carry stigma or shame, depending on individual and family
circumstances. For example, rather
than thinking of her seventh grade education as inadequate, the older woman
quoted above indicated, “I’m proud I’ve got as much [education] as I do,
it’s better than not having any at all.”
For near-retirement respondents, the lack of a high school degree did not
equate with the lack of skills or ability.
Many respondents pointed out that life experiences provided the best
education and that they primarily learned on the job, as the following comments
by a Department of Transportation employee indicate.
I
think it’s what you learn while you’re workin’.
I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been here. I had to get my CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) and stuff
like that and I didn’t, never had drove a truck.
I had to take a class over here and get my permit.
Several respondents had obtained the commercial driver’s
license and pointed out that the CDL required both a written exam and a road
test.
Another respondent indicated that he and his wife had learned how to
build houses, not through formal training in construction, but simply by doing
it. I’ve built five houses by myself. Me and my wife done it practically all ourselves, you see. I first started out when I was about twelve years old, puttin’ down hardwood floors and finishing ‘em. So, to see somebody do a little something, you know you can do it to. That’s how come me to build my houses myself. I said, “Well, they can do it. Why can’t I?” So I just went ahead and built ‘em. Many older respondents demonstrated confidence in their
workplace capabilities. While they
were aware that others--often employers--considered their lack of formal
education a shortcoming, they seldom thought of it as shameful themselves.
Rather, they had demonstrated their ability to succeed in the workplace
and took pride in their accomplishments.
Older respondents were increasingly concerned about health
issues, especially as these affected their work.
Because they were often employed in manual labor positions, advancing age
brought concerns about job performance. A
former coal miner described his physically strenuous work and related that he
often went home exhausted and without energy for other activities. It’s just eight hours of hard work. You hardly ever get a break. The only break you’ll get is thirty minutes for dinner and that’s it. You’re back at work. And you can’t never catch up because they’re advancing all the time. They load so much coal, you just never catch up. After mining for more than thirty years, this man was laid
off and is partially disabled. I’m really not able to work, I’m busted up. I got black lung bad. I’ve had both of my ankles broken and busted up and my knee, had my leg broke five times. I’ve got twenty percent disability out of my leg.
Like this displaced miner, other near retirement respondents were often
concerned about economic issues as they contemplated retirement.
Though they had worked full time since youth, few had received retirement
benefits. In many cases respondents
needed to remain in the workplace for financial reasons
even though their health was deteriorating.
I guess I’ll stay ‘til I’m sixty-five if I’m able, but today may be my last day. I don’t know. A man havin’ bypass [surgery] don’t know one day to the next, really. Many respondents lacked the financial resources that would
allow them to retire before age sixty-five when they would be able to collect
Medicare benefits. These workers
stayed on the job for medical insurance. I don’t make enough money, more or less, I’m just workin’ for insurance, I guess. ‘Cause seven dollars an hour this day and time, you don’t make nothin’. If my wife wasn’t workin’ I couldn’t make a livin’ no way. There just ain’t no way a man could make it.
Some older respondents were also concerned
about “looking foolish” and not knowing enough to take classes, a problem
they often related to the length of time they had been out of school. I’d rather work as to go through the book work. ‘Cause I’m gettin’ too old for it to help me, really. I wouldn’t want ‘em to think I was dumb as a coal bucket. That’s the way I feel about it. Even if I was in the workforce, I wouldn’t have long to get out. Other respondents worried about being able to do the schoolwork
required of them. They were
concerned that their skill level, in combination with the extended time period
since they had attended school, would prevent them from succeeding. If I knew I could do it, it wouldn’t bother me. But, I don’t know, I’m just slow at it. If I knowed I could read it and understand it, it wouldn’t bother me a bit. If I can understand it I can get along with the best of them, but if I can’t understand it, then I can’t do it. While older respondents seemed very aware of the trend
toward credentialing, they were often unaware of how to negotiate it
successfully and frequently thought of it as an imposition.
Even though they indicated education was important for younger
workers--their children and grandchildren--many older workers felt it was
inappropriate to demand of themselves. Workers
who were hired without a GED to do such things as run heavy equipment, work on
production lines, and clean schools, were now being pressured to complete their
degree for job advancement. These
workers were especially critical of the GED as a credential. The only job I’ve had is when I got on here. Seems like it was, I’ll be honest with you, seems like it was easier to come to work for the state than when I would try to get other jobs. It seems like it wasn’t that big of a deal here. . . I have been going on fourteen years now. I was hired, you know, without a high school education and they didn’t bring all this up then. You still work your same job. Similarly, another respondent related: I’m a special equipment operator. And when I come here I started at the bottom and climbed my way up. I mean, I think if a man can do his job and do it right, they ort to give him the money. Whether they have a high school education, or four years of college, or eight years of college. These older workers felt the requirement that they complete
the GED was an inappropriate one that penalized them even though they
demonstrated daily that they were able to do the work they had been hired to do. |
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