After graduating from the high school or university, many students will transit to another stage in their life, which is to develop their career. Many doubt whether educational attainment is the major determinant of their occupational mobility in their first few years of career development. In fact, occupational mobility refers to the ease with which workers can switch career fields to find gainful employment or meet labor needs. (Investopedia, Occupational Labor Mobility, Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/occupational-labor-mobility.asp) In my opinion, educational attainment is only one of the major determinants, indicating that there are other essential elements when considering occupational mobility, such …show more content…
Why is educational attainment one of the major determinants?
In the graduates’ first few years of career development, they may lack fruitful working experience to impress the employers. Although there are many other determinants of occupational mobility, educational attainment is important since educational attainment is objective and can be quantified, which employers perceive these attainments as credible proofs of their knowledge in the specific fields. When adolescents get higher educational attainments, they can choose among a greater variety of jobs, for example, including those do not require any bachelor degree and also those require. Hence, the higher their educational attainment is, the higher occupational mobility they enjoy as it is easier for them to switch career fields. This can be revealed in India, according to a report investigating the probability of success in changing job/occupation. In particular, it is noted that for the male members, the
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Yet, Chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings, Li Ka Shing said, ‘Reforms in education and self-enhancement are important tools to engender social upward mobility.’ (Li Ka Shing Foundation, (2014), An Interview with Mr.Li Ka-Shing, Retrieved November 20, 2015 from http://www.lksf.org/mr-li-caixin-eng/) The biggest entrepreneur in Hong Kong addressed not only the importance of education, but also self-enhancement when considering social upward mobility, which includes occupational mobility. Previous part-time job experience and the posts the adolescents have carried before can be regarded as self-enhancement since the rationale of adolescents to attempt part-time jobs during years of study is to enhance their experiences in various career fields. Consequently, besides educational attainment, self-enhancement is also a major determinant of occupational