Reg Theriault, Essay Example

Reg Theriault reviews the variouscharacteristics of working in his book.  As an electrician in the construction industry, the perspectives with regards to the relationshipbetween the experiences of the younger and the older workers is appreciated. The older workers believe that there is no other alternative beside work. The younger generationis full of ideals (Theriault 64). This essay will explore the collective intelligence of the workers, the cooperative efforts with the management, job satisfaction and society’s perspective of work recognition.

Background

The ability of acquiring skills is viewed as a way of being able to avoid the destiny of work.  This issomething that is perceived by the managers and the workers wholabor under their supervision. This a characteristic that is appreciated from the perspective of being an electrician in the construction industry.

Historical context

The similaritiesbetween a female in the construction industry who works as an electrician and the workers in the book are that the older workers learn that they are destined to work and that they should be satisfied. The electrician industry is a very difficult industry to be given access. I learned how to be an electrician at a young age and was inspired by one of the managers.

Value of Education

Theriault equates the parents with being the influences that cause children to believe   education and experiential knowledge that is acquired will be able to liberate them. Theriault also details that the path to the mismanagement positions is by means of education. Theriault perceives that it is better to be a manager than to be a worker. In his experience as a longshoreman, there were six hundred longshoreman jobs that were available (Theriault 25).

In addition, Theriault mentions that there were fourteen thousand workers for the six hundred longshoreman employment positions.  The position of being a longshoreman is a good job with union benefits (Theriault 27). Theriault discusses that among the variousapplicants for the longshoreman position, there had been a variety of executives and school teachers who applied. Theriault details how he acquired an education and was able to work in a blue collar job in order tosatisfy needs (Theriault 24). Work is an inevitable destiny. Many people complain about work while they are employed and see those who are in business as being in better situations.

Female Electrician

My perspective is that in the present economic environment, education is having the ability of selecting a career or being in an employment position that is routine. I like my job as an electricianbecause it is a male oriented trade. When many of my co-workers see that I am wiring a system for two hundred and twenty volt capacity, they ask me how I learnt that type of skill. This is attributed to the fact that I am a female in the construction industry. The education that I received opened the door for me to gain entry into the male dominated electrician industry in the construction field.  This caused me to appreciate Theriault’s perspective that education is a means of gaining access to improved employment opportunities (Theriault 24). In life many people apply their education at an early point in life. There are others who do not appreciate education and try to compensate for the lack of education later in life.  Theriault and I believe that an effective work ethic is inherited from the parents (Theriault 60).

One characteristic that I agree with Theriault on is that the younger workers have receptiveattitudes and dreams (Theriault 64). The older workers feel as if they are caught in the inevitable cycle of work and find that they are limited.  As a young girl, I observed my parents going to work in order to attain the things they wanted. As I grew, my parents would tell me that if I wanted something that they did not give me that I should go and get employment.  It was not realized at the time, my parentswereinstilling the value of an earned dollar. Many of my friends did not grow up with the same attitudes and many of them are spoiled kept women who wait for their husbands to give them what they request.

Many of my girlfriends believe that if they got jobs while relying on their looks that they could take it easy. Many of my friends did not learn any trades or vocations and felt that they would always be able to depend on their appearances in order to get employment. This is why they did not emphasize learning a skill. Later in life, these friendsrealize that their employment options are more limited without an education.

Conclusion

Theriault has a fantastic outlook on working. Theriault has been working his way upfrom menial low paid positions his entire life. Theriault perceives the positive and negative characteristics of havingemployment. In addition Theriault was able to see beyond what he perceived. In the current job market, if a person has a college education there is more room for mobility. All of Theriault’s employment positions involved manual labor. I believe that it is important to enjoy whatever is done for a living. Education is a tool and it provides advantages in the job market.

Works Cited

Theriault, Reg. How to tell when you’re tired: A brief examination of work. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1995. Print.