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Ever since I joined high school, I have always been fascinated by my teachers and how they do their work. I have always been interested in imparting knowledge to young people and guiding them on how to choose their career paths by giving them the necessary information and know-how they would require in today’s competitive world. This is from seeing and watching all my high school teachers who have a great impact on my future career goal of being a high school social studies teacher.
Consistent with Granovetter’s emphasis on the importance of weak ties in job changes as a means of accumulating a diverse range of contacts, my career as a high school social studies teacher will greatly be improved by gaining new experience and knowhow from interacting with different teachers in the profession over the next couple of years. Nevertheless, this argument has some weak points as a career, as a high school teacher would require some strong ties to a mentor. This is because the potency of dyadic ties is argued to be the degree to which the friendship/relationship between two individuals extends beyond networks but is directly variable to the force of the ties to each other.
Career Goal
As a personal future goal, being fulfilled in my work is what I seek to achieve. I would like to be able to achieve a high discipline of decision making, cope and tolerate team members, and most of all, be able to meet expectations set out for me by my employers and also by myself. In this line, my expectations in the next five to fifteen years is to be able to be financially stable and debt-free, be able to land a job that gives me the benefit of having flexible hours to work so that I can have enough time for myself and future family that am planning to have (Barber, 1990).
This, I realize is only achievable when I can live life according to my principles and standards but still be considerate of my environment and society. I would also like to have the opportunity to provide for the less fortunate and I think this would be the highlight of my career as a high school social studies teacher. Another goal I would like to achieve is to care for my siblings and family and be a role model for them. I am driven by a desire to not only have a better life but also provide a better life for my family (Genia 1997).
I would say that my chosen career path is a result of my high school teacher and the care and help I got from her during my high school years. Even when she did not teach me anymore due to the progression in years, she still had time for me, to mentor me and guide me along the way. My life has been shaped by her diligence and care to be interested in me and that is what I want to give back to the young people joining high school and the society at large (Granovetter 2007)…
Background on the Profession or Field
The study of social studies is about being able to understand one’s environment and knowing how to come up with solutions to society’s problems. This ability to understand makes one just, thoughtful, considerate, honest, and truthful. Choosing a career as a high school social studies teacher will give me the ability to be a much better person and not only answer questions of what but also of how and why (Barber, 1990). Cramming and memorizing facts is not enough to create any sensible application of the study to our social lives. Social studies contrary to “structured disciplines,” have content that is particularly open to principles for schooling and knowledge. Constructivism is considered valueless in acquiring skills such as those got from the “structured disciplines” and certain substances embodied in the science disciplines (Kelchtermans 1993).
Analysis
According to Granovetter’s analysis of the role of contacts and social networks in labor markets to a specific industry or profession, the strength of weak ties to job-seekers networks on job searches and results, such as occupational position and projected remunerations. Studies show that the ensuing materialization of distinctive networking strategies and outcomes is reliant on the expansion of the employment sector. Studies identify two groups of job seekers: 1). those let off from growing industries, and 2). those let off from declining industries. Those from growing industries showed a tendency to create stronger ties unlike those in declining ones who created weaker ties. The result of this was that those that formed weaker ties were able to rep the best when searching for reemployment in terms of higher salaries and so forth.
The weak ties assumption brings forth an argument that the “strength of a tie is a (probably linear) combination of the amount of time, the emotional intensity, the intimacy (mutual confiding), and the reciprocal services which characterize the tie” (Granovetter 1973). He further goes on to state that these ties are not wholly dependent on each other through an inter-correlation can be seen between them.
To illustrate this Granovetter gives an illustration of three types of individuals A, B, and C. According to Granovetter, if a tie exists between a person A and a person B; and between persons A and C then the tie between B and C is dependent on the strength of ties between A and B and C respectively. If these ties were all independent then the ties between B and C would be non-existent. “For example, if A and B are together 60% of the time, and A and C 40%, then C, A, and B would be together 24% of the time” (Granovetter 1973).
Therefore, if A and B are strongly tied, then according to probability there will always be a tie between B and C. If it is absent, then a situation called ‘the forbidden triad’ is formed, this is according to Granovetter. The B-C tie is and will always be present notwithstanding its weakness or strength. Consequently, the ‘weak ties’ notion puts forward that clumps or cliques of social structure will form, being bound predominately by ‘strong ties’. In this case, Granovetter argues that the weak ties’ function is that of abridging vital between ‘two densely knit clumps of close friends’ (Granovetter 1973).
The notion brought out by the strength of ties indicates that one cannot function alone within the society and needs to rely on his or her environment. The relationship whether weak or strong, plays a crucial role in an individual’s life as per the environment they find themselves in. thus basing this in mind, my chosen career path is defined by the ties created along the way of trying to achieve it. Whether a strong tie through a mentor or the weak ties in cases where interaction with colleagues and other professionals in the same field is brief, they all compliment each other especially when it comes to job seeking (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006). On the other hand, Granovetter’s weak ties theory is not wholly sufficient as there are cases of people who rely on these weak ties losing out more than those who create strong ties.
The notion further argues that persons with more weak ties have greater opportunities for mobility and are easily adaptable to change and innovation especially on professional levels, but on the other hand those with strong ties are not able to be flexible enough due to the impact and intensity of their ties (Grey 1994).
The weak ties will argue out that, the possibility of creating ties that are based on emotional feelings will work against interrelationships especially when they are supposed to be on a professional level. Persons with weak ties are bound to lose out on information from parts of the society that they are not in constant communication with. They will be therefore confined to the peripheral information that they can receive from their close family members and friends or colleagues but all the same Granovetter’s approach is useful for understanding how to achieve your career goal. (Granovetter 1973).
Conclusion
It is logical to say individuals share a closely bound personal and interrelated experience therefore cannot exist on their own. The social design and structure today make it hard for individualism but rather interrelation between persons by enabling them to form ties whether weak or strong. Basing on this, it is quite right to assert that the strength in ties is important for any person in their professional career. But on the other hand, the type of ties being formed matter a lot as they will chart the course of an individual’s career path. The idea of strength in ties trumps the individualistic perspective that people tend to have and it shows that interrelation and interaction are a necessity within the society and environments that individuals find themselves a part of.
References
Barber, B. (1990). Social studies of science. Manchester: Transaction Publishers.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Cigarette Use Among High School Students – United States, 1991-2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports 55, 724-726.
Genia, W. (1997). The Lonely Way. American Journal of Sociology 42, 37-64.
Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. The American Journal of Sociology. Vol 78(6), 1360-1380.
Grey, C. (1994). Career as a Project of the Self and Labour Process Discipline. Sociology vol. 28(2), 479-497.
Kelchtermans, G. (1993). Getting the story, understanding the lives: From career stories to teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education Volume 9, Issues 5-6, p. 443-456.
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