Government's Influence on Career Choices in Public or Private Sector - Research Paper Example

First Governments Influence on Career Choices in Public or Private Sector Every individual faces a major hurdle of choosing a career. Regardless of the fact that one is looking for a first job or intending to change a career, several aspects have to play a role in affecting their final decisions. Some of the noticeable factors include parents and family friends, peer groups, government and other environmental factors, and personal tastes and preference. Even though the government may seem to be in an indirect contact with an individual, it contributes significantly in affecting personal career choices through federal legislations, state labor laws, alteration of the curriculum and foreign relations. The paper covers the influence of the government in career choice selection in the public or private sector exclusively. First, state laws and regulations as far as education is concerned may affect once career choice decision. For example, government legislation affecting the Treasury spending on the state universities may make either expand the number of students taking individual courses in those universities or reduce them. It is a fact that some courses in the USA universities require funding in terms of resources. In most cases, the government supports them. However, obtaining substantial fiscal support is not a guarantee. A student may want to pursue a course in a particular field. However, the particular school of that offers the course of his choice may decline his application due to the inadequacy of resources. No matter how qualified such a student may be, thinking of alternative career at that point is not debatable. The figures in the Appendix 1 show the absorption rate of college graduates. It explains the influence of government in the career-making decision. However, the government has made good progress in solving this challenge, but many people or students still face problems (Lee and McCann 34) Secondly, the nature of labor laws installed by the state and federal government affect an individual’s career path. For instance, the issues such as the minimum wage level in a sector or minimum state requirement for employment in a particular sector have weight when making a career decision. Some industry sectors face stringent government labor regulations while others face relaxed laws (Zhang et al. 59). In other words, some labor laws and regulations are very specific to a given industry. Practically, the scenario of a doctor and a teacher illustrates the disparity in employment rules in either the public institutions or the private sector. Additionally, the salary and wages are of significant concern when selecting career paths. It is in the public domain that same professions in government and public sector do not offer the same package of compensation. Therefore, the choice to join public or private sector in career progress depends primarily on job security and the associated package. Thirdly, typically the government dictates of the school’s curriculum content especially in early learning stages such as K-12. Such contents may have an impact on the way individuals think and argue since the materials form part of their brain development. For example, a young student may get the impression that joining the army is a thrilling career experience if the curriculum portrays the career positively. However, some of the federal government does not emphasize the positive aspects of particular careers such as arts. Specifically, Zhang and other researchers noticed that the education system of the USA support jobs aligned with science and technology (60). Since a considerable percentage of children in USA join the schools at very early age, the contents of the national school curriculum may have a significant influence on the life career choice (Kaufman and Lewin 57). Fourth, the government usually does serious marketing for the less preferred jobs such as the army. The marketing campaigns make the compensation and conditions for an average US army official very lucrative and tempting. Whenever government faces a shortage of labor, they embark to marketing just like the private sector (Bhattacharyya, Mead and Nathaniel 345). The continued positive branding of some careers may have an enormous impact on individual’s career choices. Furthermore, the government provides best training in some of the most sensitive areas such as the army and homeland security. An individual may make a career choice based on the level of training one hopes to achieve. In fact, those players in the security service of the privates sector mostly snatch some of their best human resource personnel from the government. Therefore, marketing may influence individual in the private and public sectors to change careers due to the high demand of competent workforce in key fields (Kaufman and Lewin 50) Lastly, the government international relations have an influence on an individual’s career path. Some career paths may demand that one flies to a foreign country to further studies or just to carry out the job itself. Consider a scenario where a US citizen has landed a prime job in a foreign country. If the US government is not in conducive international terms with such a country, say Iran, an individual may not have the urge to pursue his career in such a hostile foreign environment. It goes without saying the immigration department, and the federal laws governing US workers in foreign countries will not be lenient enough to make some happy to take up the job in the said country. In fact, US after warning its citizens not to head to certain places in pursuit of careers may decide to play a passive role in the case of an incidence. Therefore, international relations and government labor laws concerning working in foreign nations may have an effect on the decision one makes career wise. In conclusion, the government influence on once career choice primarily involves the laws, regulations, statutes and amendments made by the state law-making organs in relation to labor and any training supporting development of work. Works Cited Bhattacharyya, Sumita, Timothy P. Mead, and Rajkumar Nathaniel. The Influence Of Science Summer Camp on African-American High School Students Career Choices. School Science and Mathematics 111.7 (2011): 345-353. Web. Lee, Sang-Heon, and Deirdre M McCann. Regulating for Decent Work. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print. Kaufman, Bruce E, and David Lewin. Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2009. Print. Zhang, Linxiu et al. Are Elite University Graduates Aiding China’S Transition To An Innovation-Based Economy? Results From a Career Choices Survey Among Would-Be Innovators in China and The USA. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics 20.1 (2013): 58-69. Web. Appendix I Read More