Minorities are discriminated against in the workplace. Discrimination is not a new concept but has existed for centuries. Discrimination results in affecting the career goals of individuals and, consequently, their achievements. My career goal is to become a Physician Assistant. I plan on realizing this by getting good grades and graduating from college. I then plan on working to save money to join the Physician Assistant program.
The issues of men, women, and minorities and careers
The contemporary business world is filled with both men and women working to earn a living and support their dependents. This was not the case a few decades ago, where discrimination was widespread. There was rampant gender discrimination racial discrimination that affected both men, women, and minorities. For many centuries, women were expected to stay at home and take care of the children and family as their husbands were expected to go to work and provide form them (Fields, 2019). The minorities in the US were also discriminated against, especially the blacks, Irish, and Mexicans (Resito, Roscigno & Philips, 2019). This led them to work jobs that paid them meagre wages that were not able to provide for their livelihood.
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The glass ceiling concept is a problem that relates to the barriers women and minorities face when trying to advance their careers (Tardos & Paksi, 2018). The glass ceiling effect is seen when only selected groups make the top management levels. The mommy track affects women and achievement as they are forced to seek a career path that will support motherhood. This includes women choosing jobs that have flexible hours and fewer career advancement opportunities (Tardos & Paksi, 2018). Single parent women face significant problems. They have to work to sustain their families and also be present to positively influence their children (Sniekers & Van den Brink, 2019). They normally end up facing burnout as they try to balance both work and family life without the help of their significant others. In a family where both the mother and father work, their relationship could be affected as the man may feel as though there is a gender role conflict. It could also impact the relationship if the wife makes more money where the man may feel emasculated (Fottrell, 2019). This may result in them breaking up as the man tries to salvage his image.
Plans for a future career
I have always had a passion for working in the medical profession. Once I joined high school, I began to work toward my goal. It was at this age that I began acquiring knowledge, information, and skills that I would use to achieve my goals (Santrock, 2015). Unfortunately, as characteristic with this stage, I did not have much concern for direct application of the skills, and when I realized it, it was too late to salvage my dream of starting pre-med classes. I had to find a different way to enter the program, which was how I landed in the psychology department. This taught me a valuable lesson that saw me come up with goals for my future. I realized the career planning process relied on goal setting to achieve a satisfying and successful career (McKay, 2019). I, therefore, planned to join college and graduate then eventually join the Physician Assistant program.
Steps to make it happen
As a college student, I knew I had to work hard to achieve my goals. A major characteristic of this stage is thought, and cognition tends to be focused and intense, and the knowledge skills and information acquired is used for a specific goal (Santrock, 2015). As such, I decided to plan how I would work my way to the career I had. Every career goal is expected to have both long term and short term goals while also factoring in any obstacles that one may face and the best way to remedy them (McKay, 2019). My short term goals are to get good grades in college that will allow me to graduate on time from the program. Another short term goal is to work for a while and save up tuition fees that would help me then enable me to join the Physician Assistant (PA) program later.
My two long term goals are to research the required competencies for joining the PA program and furthering my studies to ensure I become a PA. For me, this is the path through which I believe I will use to have a career in medicine. I know I would be able to focus better and achieve the goal since this would happen a bit later in my life after I became more responsible, where my thoughts and cognition would broaden to encompass long-range goals for both my family and myself (Santrock, 2015). Unfortunately, I anticipate a few barriers that may hinder me from realizing my goal.
Anticipated obstacles
There are two anticipated obstacles to achieving my career goals. First, I anticipate that I might have financial constraints. Going to school without scholarship is potentially destructive, especially if one is not relatively rich. Tuition fees are high, and school supplies are expensive and could even result in bankrupting someone if they are not well prepared. I also anticipate that I may suffer from burnout, especially because school is very demanding. It requires full attention and can cause emotional strain and stress to an individual.
Plan to mitigate the obstacles
However, I have a plan to mitigate the two anticipated obstacles. To mitigate the anticipated financial strain, I plan on saving money that I will use to finance my education. I will be living by myself, and I do not expect to have much use for money, thus ensuring that once I join the school, I will have money for school necessities and my survival. I also plan to quit working my full-time job to prevent burnout from catching up with me. I will only be working part-time to ensure I get the money for my sustenance.
Conclusion
Discrimination is still a problem facing minorities in the workplace. Remedying modern-day discrimination will give everyone a chance at advancing their career opportunities and providing for their loved ones. I have a plan to achieve my career goal. I plan to do this by furthering my education and becoming a Physician Assistant
References
Fields, M. D. (2019). Women in American Labour Movement: Overcoming Exclusion and Sex-Based Discrimination. International Journal of Public and Private Perspectives on Healthcare, Culture, and the Environment (IJPPPHCE) , 3 (2), 59-66.
Fottrell, Q. (2019). This is one thing in your marriage increases the risk of divorce by 33%. Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-american-men-ever-be-happy-if-their-wives-earn-more-than-they-do-2019-04-29
McKay, D. (2019). How to set short and long term goals for your career. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/goal-setting-526182 .
Restifo, S. J., Roscigno, V. J., & Phillips, L. A. (2019). Racial/Ethnic Hierarchy and Urban Labor Market Inequality: Four Poignant Historical Cases. City & Community .
Santrock, J., W. (2015). Life-span development. McGraw Hill Education.
Sniekers, M., & van den Brink, M. (2019). Navigating norms and structures: young mothers’ pathways to economic independence. Journal of Youth Studies , 22 (2), 187-204.
Tardos, K. & Paksi, V. (2018). Academic careers and the value of the PHD degree: An introduction to the special issue. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Katalin_Tardos/publication/330913518_Academic_Careers_and_the_Value_of_the_PhD_An_Introduction_to_the_Special_Issue/links/5c5b4df992851c48a9bfc577/Academic-Careers-and-the-Value-of-the-PhD-An-Introduction-to-the-Special-Issue.pdf
