The desire to get away from wearing overalls seemed to be prominent in their motivation. The commission concluded that guidance service was probably less well organized and operating less effectively than any other phase of secondary-school activity.
To the wondering young person the aim and object of all education, schooling and culture, it seems to be to come into a lot of money without working very hard for it."
Job selection relates to the realm of fundamental motivations of the youth. It is doubtful that economic reward is always most prominent. At least the more poorly paid occupations of the white-collar class seem to appeal to an endless stream of youth.
With many idealistic youth, the appeal of the job is primarily an appeal to discharge important service to humanity. This was so in the call to the mission field so prominent a generation or so ago, and is now true of the social-work profession. The ministry, teaching, medicine, and nursing offer the same appeal.
One important appeal of the professions and of clerical jobs is that of being able to work while dressed up. The appeal of the secretarial position to many girls may be in part one of dress, in part the desire to work closely with others, particularly those of the opposite sex. Others are fascinated by the mechanical skills the work requires or the feeling of authority it gives. With many it is the position most readily accessible. Others learn typing and shorthand so they can fall back on it if necessary; it is a way to earn money while attending school, etc.
In some cases the appeal of the job is that of a uniform. It has always seemed to the writer that a surprising number of farm boys attend colleges of agriculture and mechanical arts with the idea of majoring in engineering. There seems to be no logic behind it, because they very frequently do not have the mathematical ability required by the course. It is possible that back of these motivations are such incidental experiences as seeing surveyors in khaki uniforms working with their instruments along some highway in a local community. It is possible that the uniform is a part of the appeal of nursing to girls, also, as much as the service motive.
The writer has never forgotten an incident at the time his brother and he entered the elevator of a Chicago hotel. A former high-school pupil of his brother's was the elevator boy, dressed in bright red uniform with gold trimmings. He looked at the brother with pride and said, "I've certainly gone up in the world since you knew me, haven't I?" He was a lad of immigrant stock who had, after high-school training, secured the job as elevator boy. To him it was the acme of success. Without the uniform, it is doubtful that the job would have offered the same degree of personal satisfaction.
Other positions are appealing because of the romance of travel that they offer. No doubt one of the common appeals of school teaching is the attraction of long vacations of which farm parents especially often speak with great respect, as they compare their year-in and year-out grind with that of the teacher whose hours they think close promptly at four o'clock and whose work week is 5 days and whose year is 9 months. Similarly, parents often idealize the banker's job where they assume the hours are short and the work is easy.
All these evaluations, many of them entirely erroneous, that find expression in the conversation of parents, or in other ways, come within the focus of youth's consideration and help provide motivation for seeking entry to given vocations.
The vocations of some are cut out in large part by their own peculiar temperaments and interests. The sole motive of some young persons in a choice of vocation is to be able to work alone. They want to be scientists shut away in laboratories or naturalists picking their way into the secrets of nature. With others a desire for independence is very prominent. Their ruling ambition is to do as they please. This is a common philosophy of farm life. To be one's own boss is considered by many farm youth a supreme objective.
To understand vocational motivation is to understand every form of human desire and wish. Some try to find themselves in their job; others try to lose themselves in it. Many make the choice lightly and without serious motivation, as is indicated by the following example taken from a student paper:
When we were finished with high school, a very close friend and myself decided that we would like to study electrical engineering. Neither of us had money and both considered it rather unwise to try to go to school. Foolish, like many young people, we flipped a coin to determine whether we would try it. As a result, I am going to school.
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