Jobs Changing Over 60 Years
by Trisha Karnik
1955
In the 50s, many careers that are available today, weren't available back then, and vice versa. During 1955, only men held high power jobs, and women had to struggle to earn even half of what the men were earning at the time. The average income per month for skilled workers was approximately $4,137. Several of these jobs didn't require any educational background; just proper body functionality. Popular career choices included:
- Mail men,
- Milk men,
- Military workers,
- Factory workers,
- Bankers,
- Telephone operators,
- Reporters,
- Real estate agents,
- Politicians,
- Waiters and waitresses,
- Workers for big name companies, such as GM, Chrysler, Goodyear, Firestone, and US Steel.
Christine Collins
Christine Collins worked before 1955, but she was one of the only people I could find anywhere around that time. She lived in California and worked as the manager of a telephone company. Even though she was a woman working in America in 1928, she was considered middle class, not working class, because she was able to support herself.
1985
In and around 1985, women started to appear more and more in the work force. They began to gain the same rights as men and take their jobs as they became more skilled in what they were doing. Most jobs during this time required proper education, such as receiving a bachelor's or master's degree, training, and previous professional experience. Almost all of the common jobs around 1985 still exist today. The jobs that were prevalent during this time were:
- Teachers,
- Actors and actresses,
- Singers,
- Politicians,
- Professional athletes,
- Reporters
- Military professionals,
- Mail men.
Interview
My mom's uncle was working in America during the 80s and he still works here today. I asked him to tell me a little bit about how he started out and what he does now and I was surprised by what he told me. Before moving to Houston, he was in New York. He moved to New York from India in order to get a better education and make a better living for himself. He studied criminal investigation and forensic science while living there, and even looked for jobs in crime scene investigation, but nothing really appealed to him. He then found out that petroleum companies used similar types of science that he studied. He moved to Houston because the petroleum industry was booming over there during this time. He was offered three jobs, but accepted the offer by SGS. He has now worked there for over 35 years and doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon.
Mail Man
2015
In today's time, most anyone can get a job if they want. Most jobs do require education up to a certain level, training, and previous experience, but lots of new jobs can support you from the comfort of your own home, even if you don't have three of the things listed. The median household income per year in 2015 is $51,393. Popular job options today are:
- Doctors,
- Teachers,
- Lawyers,
- Actors and actresses,
- Musicians,
- YouTubers,
- Politicians,
- Technology related work,
- TV personalities,
- Military workers.
Interview
My mom has been working in America since the 90s. She studied in India to become a child psychologist, but later realized that wasn't the path she wanted to go down. After my parents got married and moved to America, my mom completed her master's degree. She first worked for Blockbuster because back then they were making a lot of money, and my mom loved being a part of that environment. A few years after that, she left Blockbuster, but joined Hotels.com. She worked in IT for about 8 or 9 years over there until she began at Research Now, formerly E-Rewards.
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