College isn't for everyone - The 4 Myths of Skilled Labor

The 4 Myths of Skilled Labor

Welders, plumbers, electricians, machinists — they’re in higher demand now, and have greater benefits, than they ever have. While our nation endures record unemployment for young people, there are literally thousands upon thousands of trades jobs available (very good jobs, mind you) that go untaken because there aren’t skilled laborers to take them.

This wasn’t always the case, though. A century ago, the nation’s workforce looked much different. In 1900, 38% of all workers were farmers, with another 31% in other trades such as mining, manufacturing, construction, etc. Only about 30% of the workforce labored in service industries (defined as providing intangible goods). Fast forward 100 years, and you see almost the exact reverse. In 1999, over 75% of the labor pool worked in the service industry (most often in an office), and farming saw a precipitous decline to a mere 3%, and other trades down to 19%.

While the number of laborers in the skilled trades has sharply declined, there’s still a great need for this type of work. These blue collar men and women literally keep our nation’s infrastructure intact – from our electrical systems, to our plumbing, and even the nuts and bolts that keep our buildings together. There is an ever-widening skills gap occurring in our nation because of the fact that young people aren’t considering those careers. This means there are good jobs available, but no talent to fill them. It’s for this reason that Mike Rowe, former host of the popular show Dirty Jobs, is advocating for a return to blue collar work through his foundation and scholarship fund. And it’s not just him; high schools across the country have begun to recognize the need for skilled work, and are becoming career training centers rather than simply liberal arts institutions that exist solely to prepare students for college. State politicians are campaigning and recruiting on behalf of construction companies, because state-funded projects simply can’t find tradesmen to weld or to install elevators.

There is good work and good money to be had in the trades, so why aren’t more young people picking up their hard hats? I talked with Kevin Simpson from Pickens Technical College, as well as a couple folks from Emily Griffith Technical College (both here in the Denver area), to find out their take. What do these colleges see as the main culprit? Stereotypes. Our nation’s workers are holding on to stereotypes about blue collar work and about trades that may have been true fifty years ago, but simply aren’t the case anymore. There are a number of myths that folks hold about skilled trades careers; let’s take a look and get to work dismantling them:

Myth #1: Blue-collar work is “beneath” white-collar work.

“My plea, then, is that the country school should make farm labor and all labor honorable; should dignify it; should show that the environment of the country furnishes inexhaustible resources for intellectual life.” -Francis Parker, The Country School Problem, 1897

“Blue collar and white collar are two sides of the same coin, and as soon as we view one as more valuable than the other, we’ll have infrastructure that falls down, we’ll have a skills gap.” -Mike Rowe

Since ancient times, manual labor has been looked upon as a job for slaves; for the lesser. The upper classes did their work with their minds — philosophized, ran cities and nations, sold goods (though for a long time even merchants were looked down upon, since in handling money they were inferior to those who made their living purely through cognition). Egyptians, Greeks, white Americans in the 1800s — these groups of people spurned physical labor, and forced others to do it for them. It was hard, and as our human tendency is to seek comfort where we can, it was a mark of status to be above it.

During the industrialization period at the turn of the 20th century, manual labor lost some of its stigma. It was where the economy was going, it was where most of the jobs were, and there was the sense of it being absolutely essential to the building up of the country’s quickly expanding roads and cities. As learning a trade was a definite step up from being a cog in the factory system that had arisen in the 1800s, skilled craftsmen gained a greater measure of respect.

After WWII, however, more and more folks began enrolling in 4-year colleges, spurred on in large part by vets getting their tuition taken care of by the US government through the GI Bill. Virtually unlimited free education? Who wouldn’t take that deal? If you could make a living with your mind and not have to physically work hard, all the better.

As the 4-year education trend gained steam, teachers and administrators began to play more of an advisory role towards students, helping them decide where to go, which colleges they could get into, etc. These counselors guided their best and brightest students towards prestigious 4-year institutions, while shuttling poorer performing students towards tech or vocational schools. Learning a trade became thought of as the career track for those who couldn’t hack it in college, and no young man wanted to think of himself as second-rate.

The increasing number of college graduates coincided with an economy that was shifting from manufacturing and agriculture to a more intellectual and service-oriented market. Today, over three-quarters of Americans work in some kind of white collar position.

Thus, with the image of blue collar work diminishing and the market for white collar jobs expanding, it began to be cultural dogma that if a young person wanted a good, respectable, well-paying job, the only option was to go to college. More education was always seen as better, the assumption being that the more education someone has, the smarter they are, and the better job or life they’ll have later on. Trades, on the other hand, often require less schooling (by about half, in most cases, but sometimes as little as a third or quarter as much), and so this career path became associated with lesser prospects for success.

Thus, by the latter third of the 20th century, both the respectability and desirability of learning a trade had greatly diminished, while the distance between white and blue collar workers had exponentially grown.

Yet this belief that different work means lesser work, is hardly inviolable. And it’s about time we questioned it, and asked, “What defines ‘better’ anyway, in terms of a career?” Trades jobs have in many cases become better paying and more stable than most office jobs. In the past, it was a sign of cultural status to be a businessman rather than a lowly factory worker. As our economy shifted to the service sector, the difference between wages and quality of life was great enough that being a businessman really was a better job. But today, in many trades or blue collar professions, those gaps are simply no longer present based on how we define good jobs — largely in terms of pay, stability, autonomy, benefits, work-life balance, etc.

Further, learning a trade need not mean that you’re not cut out for college, or that your mind is second-rate. You can be quite smart and still choose to make your living with your hands. The idea that you can either be an intelligent white-collar worker, or a dumb blue collar brute, is an extremely false dichotomy. You could easily be an electrician during the day, and a devourer of the great books by night.

So too, it simply isn’t the case that your day-to-day work in the trades won’t engage your mind:

Myth #2: Blue-collar work isn’t creative or intellectually stimulating.

Another barrier to the trades is that there is a false notion that the work is mindless and tedious. Young people today want to be intellectually stimulated by what they do; they want to be creative and innovative, like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. The desire to create is a worthy one and is actually a defining marker of maturity. The issue is that we limit ourselves in how we think we can attain those qualities in our workplace. Surely it can only happen in a modern, minimalist office with a Mac and iPhone at hand, a big whiteboard on the wall, and fancy coffee at the ready, right? How on earth could creativity happen in a blue uniform with an auger in hand, getting to intimately know the inside a toilet?

The reality is that any job in the world includes mindless and tedious tasks. That’s just how it goes. In fact, a lot of office jobs are more tedious than you’d expect. A recent study showed that a staggering 90% of office workers waste time during the day on non-work-related activities — largely, surfing the web. Makes sense, though, doesn’t it? Nobody can be fully productive over the course of an 8-hour workday. Perhaps what’s more surprising is that over 60% are wasting at least an hour at work, and 30% are wasting 2+ hours. Why is this? The vast majority state that they’re either unchallenged, unsatisfied with their work, or are plain bored. Does that sound like an invigorating, stimulating workplace?

It could pretty easily be argued that the trades offer more intellectual stimulation than the majority of office or even entrepreneurial jobs out there. Think about the residential plumber or electrician. He’s out and about all day, seeing new places, meeting new people, and grappling with new problems. There could be any number of issues as to why a toilet isn’t unclogging or why a particular outlet isn’t working. The tradesman will start off testing the standard issues and fixes, and if that doesn’t work he’ll utilize increasingly complex troubleshooting procedures to determine the root cause of a problem. He’s executing problem solving skills and quick thinking in a way that many of us in white collar jobs never have to. The skilled trades simply offer a different type of creative outlet than a job with a startup in a trendy office. That’s what Matthew Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft, found to be the case. After going to college and taking a mind-numbing white collar job, he discovered that being a motorcycle mechanic actually provided him far more stimulation and satisfaction than he had ever gotten working behind a desk:

“The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. They seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth. He can simply point: the building stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. Boasting is what a boy does, because he has no real effect in the world. But the tradesman must reckon with the infallible judgment of reality, where one’s failures or shortcomings cannot be interpreted away. His well-founded pride is far from the gratuitous ‘self-esteem’ that educators would impart to students, as though by magic.”

Myth #3: You have to follow your passion, and welding isn’t your passion.

“Follow your dreams!” is a phrase that our culture is in love with these days. The idea is that in high school or college you’ll realize what you love to do, and then get an education that follows so that you can have your “dream job.” What this actually ends up doing though is simply filling teens and twentysomethings with a whole lot of angst about what to do with their lives. When options are seemingly limitless, we have a really hard time choosing. We end up thinking that our lives are ruined if we don’t find that one thing we really love doing.

Thankfully, and although this is extremely hard to realize sometimes, your life isn’t limitless. The reality is that most people, especially in their late teens and early twenties, have no idea what they actually want to do. But because of the stereotypes that surround blue collar work, they go to business or law school by default, because having an office job is better than being an elevator technician. How could anyone possibly be passionate about fixing elevators? The answer to that might surprise you.

There’s a lot of work being done to show that passion or fulfillment in your workplace doesn’t come through “following your dreams,” but a whole host of factors that are very different from that outdated advice. In fact, research is finding that passion follows hard work and being good at what you do, rather than precedes it. What this means practically is that if you grease your elbows and master the trade of being a plumber, you’ll actually come to enjoy your work.

The truth is that our “passion” ends up being a combination of what we’re good at and what we work hard at. Fulfillment at work is more about mastery and autonomy and balance than about a pre-existing passion. Love for your work rarely springs from fulfilling a built-in burning desire in your heart to do that one thing in the world and that one thing only. In fact, turning a hobby you’re passionate about into a job is often a surefire way to kill that burning desire good and dead.

To learn more about the myth of finding your passion, I cannot suggest strongly enough that you listen to Brett’s podcast with author Cal Newport. It’s one of my favorite AoM podcasts of all time, and one I think every teenager and twentysomething (and beyond, really) should listen to.

Myth #4: Dirty, hard work is undesirable work.

In Mike Rowe’s new book, Profoundly Disconnected, he tells the story of being in his high school guidance counselor’s office in the late 1970s and seeing the above poster. “Work smart, not hard.” While the sentiment may have been more akin to “Hard work alone is good, but being smart is important, too!” the high school student probably read it as, “Yes! I don’t have to work hard if I’m smart!” The students who saw these posters in the late 70s and early 80s are now running companies and passing that belief onto younger generations, even if in subconscious ways. Beyond those CEOs, there are authors, podcasters, “lifehackers” — all advocating working smarter rather than harder, thereby bypassing the menial, boring stuff. Heck, you can work a 4-hour week and make millions! (Or so is claimed.)

Work-Smart-And-Hard-Mike-Rowe-on-the-Skills-Gap

Thankfully, with Mike Rowe’s help, that message is being put in its rightful place: the garbage. He’s replacing it with a new message: “Work smart AND hard.”

The truth is that the world belongs to those who hustle. Ambition without elbow grease won’t get you anywhere. Even this generation’s career heroes — the late Steve Jobs, Zuck, Richard Branson — work(ed) insanely hard at their jobs. You only see glitz, but they’ve burned more than their fair share of midnight oil.

Yeah, you think, but working hard with your brain sounds better than working hard with your brawn. It’s true that there are different kinds of hard work, but they’re both hard in their own way. Each type of hard has its own pros and cons, and the hardness of physical labor doesn’t automatically make anyone less happy than the difficulty in typing at a computer all day.

Over the course of Mike Rowe’s stint as host of Dirty Jobs, he came to discover something very interesting about hard, dirty work. Before he started that job, when he was in the brainstorming phase of the show, he expected the people he ran into to really hate their work. But one after another, almost without fail, they loved it. He in fact called them the happiest group of people he’s ever seen. I’ll repeat: passion for your work will follow your working hard at something and achieving mastery in it. Swinging a hammer every day is never going to be as hard as filing TPS reports from 9-5, if you’re hating every single minute of it.

Beyond hard work, many trades are also simply dirty and grimy. We’ve recently highlighted our culture’s obsession with being clean. Antibacterial soaps and boiling stuff rule the day. This attitude carries over into how we view work. We want things to be neat and tidy and minimalist, just like that clean and beautiful Apple laptop sitting on your clean desk.

When we grow up uber-clean as children, we end up with an aversion to stuff that’s dirty or gross. And the reality is that a lot of tradesmen end the day with dirty hands. While there are some trades that don’t get grimy, Kevin Simpson estimates that about 90% do. Plumbers, electricians, construction workers — these are jobs where you shower at the end of your day, not the beginning.

In a sterile society, dirty jobs become undesirable. Perhaps that’s why their pay is increasing and job demand in the trades is higher than ever before. Mike Rowe believes that our culture is heading to a point where an hour of plumbing is going to cost more than an hour with the psychologist. If you can get over your fear of dirt, grime, and sweat, you have the potential to make a far better living than your office-dwelling peers. And you may even discover that it feels good to be using your body and hands every day, that it’s satisfying to be in touch with the elements, even when those elements are grimy, and that nothing feels better than taking a well-earned shower when you actually have dirt to clean off.

We’ve now covered the myths of working in the trades. In a couple weeks, we’ll get into the benefits and why every young man, or anyone considering a career move, should look at skilled labor. For now, I’ll leave you with a beautiful ode to manual labor in the form of an excerpt from a speech given by Luciano Palogan to the Philippine School of Arts and Trades in 1910:

Nothing great or good can be accomplished without labor and toil.

The days when manual labor was looked upon as a disgrace and the time when it was considered as the occupation of the degraded man have passed away. The days have disappeared when the student walked a block to call a “muchacho” to carry his books to school. And the unsoiled, soft, and cushion-like hands, the pride of the young man a few years ago, have gone out of fashion.

Manual labor squeezes the sweat out of the muscles and roughens the hands, but in turn it restores strength and increases their size. Roughness of the hands and scorchings of the sun on the face are the truest badge that a man can wear to show that he belongs to the great society of the workers and not of drones.
















P. O. Doe #probation #probationuncovered Twitter - @PODoe2015 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/probationuncovered/ Email - probationuncovered@gmail.com

Excerpt from "Newbie Status - A Guide for Probation Officers to Survive the First Five Years and Beyond"

The following is the introduction and a two segment excerpt from my eBook.

Introduction

There are many different probation agencies throughout the nation.  Some are sworn law enforcement officers and some are not.  Some are a combination of probation and parole.  Some are extensions of the prison systems.  Nearly all receive some sort of initial training, a variation of an academy like the police go through.  But shorter and they are not normally a stress based program. 

In that training, probation officers receive training in the core topics that they will deal with in day to day work.  It is the basics that they need for performing their duties.  It will cover topics such as their specific states criminal justice system, juvenile detention, information gathering for written records, interviewing, restitution, fines, court reports, court presentations, casework relationships, providing counseling, monitoring probationers and officer safety.  You will also get training on the day to day expectations for your new position through your supervisor.  Some places may additionally have a program similar to the Field Training Officer (FTO) program in which the new officer is assigned to a specific agency training for their probationary period.  What you’re not taught is the things that you will have to deal with to last your first five years in the job and beyond.  This book is intended to guide you with just that type of information so you can be safe, successful and healthy.

Talk to People with Respect

No matter what they may have done to get arrested, treat people with respect. When they are handcuffed and securely placed in a cage vehicle, things can slow down. They may be running their mouth and be very disrespectful, but that is no reason for you to drop to their level. Your professionalism will be appreciated. I have had many arrested subjects who thanked me later for treating them with respect. It’s also a really stupid thing to catch a complaint and/or internal affairs case over.

No matter what they did to get placed on probation, treat them with respect. I know the temptation is to lecture, but that really is not our place. Leave that to the TV shows and the judge. This is part of establishing a good rapport with your client. In their minds, rapport will equal respect.  Again, this will pay dividends down the road in your relationship with them. Who knows, maybe because the way that you treated them they will remember you and you will be the one that they call when they have information about a new crime.  It will also help develop respect, which can keep you safe.  If they’re not angry by the way you treated them, they are not as likely to attack you.

Boundaries with Clients

When dealing with clients, you need to be aware of the nature of that relationship. That meant that it always must remain professional. By professional I do not mean cold and calculating. Most of us got into this profession because we care about people and we have a heart. But you cannot let your compassion get you into a situation that you lose your job or wind up in jail or worse.

I believe that most of the people that we service have just made a mistake and they need another chance. But, their issues often lead towards manipulative tendencies. Remember that we are dealing with people who haven’t had their needs met; drug addicts, the mentally ill, sex offenders, sociopaths, psychopaths and some just plain mean hard-core criminals. If you haven’t had the opportunity to interact with a sociopath or psychopath, the chances are pretty good that you will in this job. They may be so glib and adept at interacting that you don’t realize what they are. At least not right away.

There needs to be topics that are never discussed with clients. These include: where you live, details about your family, your social life and any other intimate details about you.  Some of the people I mentioned in the previous paragraph will use any information they can to manipulate you or even possibly blackmail you. I don’t even keep pictures of my family in the office. You may think that it’s okay to talk about your kids to help relate to a client who is having problems with his children. It’s your choice if you want to, but do not reveal any details about age, schools, names and other specific identifying information.

P. O. Doe


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Excerpt from "Maximum Exposure - 42 Crimes from Probation"

Voices that command him

 

Police discovered that the defendant had listed his sex offender registration address as being a battered women/domestic violence shelter which does not allow men to reside at the facility.  Further investigation revealed that the defendant had never been seen by staff and the resident of the address, the defendant’s sister, denied that the defendant had ever lived there.  The defendant was contacted via his cell phone and advised to report to the police department to update his registration address.  The defendant reported to the police department and was taken into custody. 

 The defendant stated he was innocent of the offense.  The defendant stated, “I was staying with my sister at the shelter.  I moved because it was a woman’s shelter and I found out I wasn’t supposed to be there.  I didn’t update my address yet.  It had only been a couple of days since I had moved when the police called me.  It was a misunderstanding.”

The defendant reported he is currently in good physical and “shaky” mental health.  The defendant reported being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.  He provided a copy of a current prescription for an anti-psychotic medication.  The defendant had been seeing a psychiatrist 1-2 times per month until his release from prison.  Since that time, his treatment has been sporadic, but he has remained on his medication.  The defendant stated that he hears voices that command him to “watch other people and sometimes to get away from them.”  He stated that the voices do not tell him to hurt other people, unless he feels they are going to hurt him first.

The evaluation is as follows: appearing to be statutorily ineligible for probation absent unusual circumstances, this man is before the Court for sentencing after pleading no contest to failing to register as a sex offender.  He does not admit guilt in this matter.  During the pre-sentence interview, the defendant was cooperative, although this deputy feels the defendant was not entirely honest and forthcoming with all of the given answers, due to conflicts with information provided in the previous report.  This represents the defendant’s fourth felony conviction.  The defendant is struggling with mental illness that appears to be of increasing severity.  His past use of illegal drugs was self-admitted to assist the defendant in dealing with the voices he hears.  The defendant appears to be getting assistance for this condition through parole, which is necessary for him to stand a chance of successfully completing a grant of probation.  Without continuing to address this need, the defendant’s prognosis is poor.  The negotiated disposition of five years probation appears appropriate.

 

Mental illness drives his daily life with the voices in his head telling him what to do.  If he actually is taking his medication, I can only imagine what he’d be like if he wasn’t on them.  But he still knows right from wrong and that the address he tried to register under was a sham.  He was distrustful and suspicious during the interview, part of what I suspect drove him to do what he did.  That the voices told him that “they” are out to get you and I’m part of the ubiquitous “they” as being an agent of the government.  So if he registers as required, “they” will know where to find him…

P. O. Doe




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#probationuncovered
Twitter - @PODoe2015
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/probationuncovered/
Email - probationuncovered@gmail.com

Question of the week - Finding employment while on probation or parole.

This may be one of the largest obstacles to success after being granted probation or being released on parole.  Where do I find work?

There are some options.  You may not have known that in some cases, you don't have to tell a potential employer about your history. Such cases may include:

• When an arrest is not currently pending or doesn't result in a conviction.
• You're going through a pre-trial adjudication for an offense that isn't criminal by statute.
• A minor drug offense occurred, and a certain number of years have passed since the conviction.
• You've erased your offense by obtaining a certificate of rehabilitation or a similar document.
• You were convicted by a juvenile court and you are now an adult. You may need to have your juvenile records sealed or expunged.

Know which offenses are on your record because the nature of your conviction matters. Certain types of convictions will disqualify you for certain types of jobs. For example, financial convictions will make it impossible for you to work in insurance or banking. You need to think about your conviction and what types of jobs that have nothing to do with your conviction. It is best if the conviction is completely unrelated to the job you are applying for. Do some research before you make any determinations. Don’t just assume that your record will disqualify you from holding a certain job. Consider the relationship of your conviction to the position. Eliminate jobs for which your record will automatically disqualify you. Your record may disqualify you for some positions, especially government jobs requiring security clearances, positions with financial responsibility, or jobs working with children.

Know what employers in your state are allowed to consider. For most employers, it is illegal to immediately and completely disqualify anyone with a conviction or arrest record. This is because many ethnic minorities, such as African Americans and Latinos, have been over-criminalized by society and are disproportionately impacted by such a policy. Employers must also demonstrate that your conviction is “job-related” and would hamper your ability or trustworthiness to perform your job. Employers should consider the amount of time that has passed since the conviction or completion of your sentence. It is more difficult for an employer to justify making a hiring decision based on a very old conviction. The type of job you are applying for should also be considered. For example, if you were convicted of a violent assault, it would probably be difficult for you to find a job where you have to interact with people (e.g., sales).

Network part one involves talking to personal connections. If a friend or family member is either hiring or knows someone who's hiring, then ask your friend or family member to hire you or to advocate for you. You'll have a much better chance of finding work when you talk to someone who knows you or your family and is interested in you. Have your advocate write a letter of recommendation to your potential employer. If your advocate and your potential employer know each other well, it is also appropriate for your advocate to call your potential employer and vouch for your character. For example, your advocate can talk about how long they have known you, and what type of person they know you to be. Your advocate can also talk to your potential employer about how you have changed since your conviction or how the conviction was the result of a mistake that you are not going to repeat.  In many cases, having personal connections can get you a job that you might not otherwise be considered for. Create a professional profile on LinkedIn and Twitter. Find an association in the industry you want to enter, and become a member. Attend industry meetings and get to know people.

Spend time and seek out positions that might afford you a chance to work "behind the scenes." You may have a good chance to get jobs in maintenance, upkeep, restocking shelves, etc. You may not be able to get positions which may have you handling other people's money or put you in social situations. Employers in restaurants and bars are often understanding of past criminal records.

Don't be afraid to start small and work your way up. Understand that when a person sees your record, he or she may be reluctant to hire you for a position with a lot of responsibility. That same person may be more than willing to give you a chance in another usually lower-paid position. You can use this chance to demonstrate that you are a reliable and trustworthy employee.  Try applying with a temp agency. You will need to disclose your criminal record to the agency. However, these agencies are sometimes able to place employees at other companies without running additional background checks, which can give you the chance to prove yourself.  Do what it takes to get your foot in the door. You may have to start at a lower-paying job for which you are overqualified. You can use this time to rebuild your resume.  If you were incarcerated, the gap in your employment history may pose as much of an obstacle as your conviction. You may need to build up a job history again by working smaller or entry-level jobs before trying to re-enter a career field.

Always be honest about your history. You may want to lie when an application asks if you have a criminal record, but you must be honest with potential employers. Many employers now conduct some sort of background check. If they find that you have been dishonest on the application, you will not be hired. If you’ve already been hired and the lie is discovered later, you can be fired for it.  Criminal background checks may not pick up older convictions or convictions in different states. Still, if they miss your conviction and find out about it after they hire you will most likely be terminated. You have certain rights regarding background checks. Your potential employer must get your permission to run a background check. If you are not hired after the background check is run, the employer must give you a copy of the report. They must do this before they make the final hiring decision. This gives you an opportunity to correct inaccurate information. It may also give you the chance to advocate for yourself. Several states now have a “ban the box” policy that requires employers to remove questions about convictions or arrests from their initial job application. They may only conduct background checks after the hiring process has been started. You can see whether these laws apply in your area to by going to www.nelp.org/banthebox.  Lying on some applications (such as for military enlistment) is a criminal offense. It is better to be honest!  Explain your answer if you're asked about convictions or arrests during an interview. Job applications and interviewers will give you an opportunity to explain the circumstances behind the offense or alleged offense. You may find that the interviewer is interested in someone who made a mistake but is now motivated to get a job.

Make sure that you read the application carefully. You must be honest about your background when filling out a job application. However, you do not need to offer more information than the application requests.  For example, if the job application specifically asks whether you have ever been convicted of a felony, you do not need to disclose misdemeanor convictions.  Some applications may ask specifically about convictions related to particular offenses, such as drugs, alcohol misuse, or sexual misconduct. If a question asks about specific offenses that do not apply to you, you do not need to disclose convictions or arrests that are not related.

 

Contact a nonprofit or agency that specializes in helping individuals with criminal records find employment. There are several organizations that are focused on helping people with criminal records find jobs. Get in touch with an organization or agency in your area.  Make sure that you find out if your city government has any programs that are specifically oriented for this.  The National Transitional Jobs Network provides job skills training, job placement services, and support to individuals who may have barriers to finding traditional employment.  America Works also assists individuals who may have difficulty finding work.

 

Try to get an offense sealed or expunged from your record. Even if you committed an offense as an adult, you can try to get an offense sealed or expunged from your record. Ask your attorney, public defender or your parole/probation officer whether you may be able to get the offense expunged (removed) from your record. If you are successful, then you can legally answer “no” to conviction questions.  The eligible offenses and requirements for this are going to vary from state to state.

 

Maybe you can employ yourself? If you’re willing to work extra hard and you have marketable skills or abilities, you may be able to make your own opportunities. The advantage of employing yourself is that you do not have to submit to background checks or other hurdles.  Consider becoming a skilled laborer, such as an electrician, plumber, or barber. Some professions require you to get a professional license. In many cases, the licensing process may require you to disclose a criminal record. However, a conviction on its own is usually not enough to disqualify you from licensure. This is especially true if your conviction was a long time ago and/or you have not had multiple convictions for the same type of crime.  Most state licensing boards will have a list of criminal convictions that may pose a barrier to entering a specific profession. For example, a person wishing to become a cosmetologist would likely have trouble getting licensed if he or she had a conviction involving children, sexual misconduct, or personal assaults. This is because a cosmetologist often has direct contact with the public in unsupervised settings, so a history of crimes against people could pose a threat.  Consider what you’re good at. If you have maintenance or lawn-care skills, try starting a small business that uses those skills. People who employ handymen or lawn-care specialists are more likely to judge you based on the quality of the work you can do, not your background If you were part of a work release program, you may consider staying in the industry that you worked in.  Be aware that you’ll probably need to have another job while you’re getting your business on its feet.

 

Have you considered joining the military? Some people think that the military will take just about anyone, while some think that you can’t get in at all with a criminal record. In the U.S., they’re both wrong.  Depending on the type, number of offenses, and the length of time since your offense, you may be able to get a waiver that will allow you to enlist. Waivers are easier to get with misdemeanors and non-violent offenses.  Multiple felony convictions are usually an automatic disqualification, as are convictions for distributing or selling illegal drugs.  You may be required to provide letters of reference that attest to your character. If you can get strong letters from responsible community members (employers, ministers, law enforcement, etc.), you have a better chance of getting a waiver.  Before you enlist, consider the potential risks and benefits of joining the military. The military can provide job training and instill discipline. Some civilian employers may be more willing to hire you if you have military job skills. However, there are also risks, such as the possibility of deployment, injury, or death.  Lying to a military recruiter about your criminal history is a felony—don’t do it.  The military has the right to investigate your entire criminal record, including offenses and records that have been sealed or expunged.  When applying to the military, you cannot legally answer “no” to questions about your criminal history, even if records were sealed or expunged.  Some branches of the military, such as the Army and the Marine Corps, may be more willing to grant waivers to individuals with felony convictions. If you don't ask the recruiter, you'll never know the answer.

 

Don't just sit around, become a volunteer. Even if you can't get a paid position to start, volunteer work looks good to employers. It can even count as job training for many professions and the Department of Social Services. Find a local soup kitchen, animal shelter, or even an advocacy organization to join.  Working as a volunteer gives you the chance to show that you are responsible, dependable, and trustworthy. It will also give you the chance to make a good impression on people in charge of you, who can vouch for your character when you apply for jobs.

 

Take advantage of education or job training programs that may be available to you after you are released. Government agencies and non-profit organizations provide many opportunities for job seekers to get more training or education. For instance, the Second Chance Act, a federal law passed in 2008, funds local groups that help newly released prisoners with substance abuse issues. In 2012, the Second Chance Act funded programs in Los Angeles, California, San Francisco, California, Florida and Texas.  Goodwill Industries runs several programs that help ex-offenders find training and employment. Goodwill re-entry programs exist in many states, so contact your local Goodwill to ask about possible programs you can apply to.  The experience and skills you develop in these programs can make a big difference in the success of your job search. Some agencies will also help you to find a job after you complete your training program. Stop by your local library and check out adult education centers in your area to find out what they offer.

 

Keep your attitude positive and don't let the word "no" get you down.  Even people with no criminal history hear a lot of that when they are looking for employment.  Keep trying.  And it helps to think of looking for a job as being a full time job.  Spend the time and it will pay off.

 

 

 

P. O. Doe

#probation
#probationuncovered

Twitter - @PODoe2015
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/probationuncovered/
Email - probationuncovered@gmail.com

Suicide hotlines - Help is out there

Don't let the stress of the job or anything else push you to this.  Reach out.  Here are some contacts through out the US.  You can also call Safe Call Now at 206-459-3020.


http://www.suicide.org/suicide-hotlines.html




P. O. Doe


 #probation
 #probationuncovered

 Twitter - @PODoe2015
 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/probationuncovered/
 Email - probationuncovered@gmail.com

Question of the Week: Expungement of Offense(s)

A question was asked regarding expungement.  Expungement is removal of the charge and conviction from the record.  It is if it didn't exist.  This has several parts to it.

Is this a juvenile or adult offense?  If it is a juvenile record, the state may instead offer to seal the record.  Some states also offer record sealing for adult offenses, but it is uncommon.  A

Does the state that you are in even offer this as a possibility?  Several states do not. 

And if the state does offer expungement, does the offense you were convicted of qualify?  Some states also limit the types of crimes that are eligible for expungement. 

If the state does not offer expungement, do they have the process in place for reduction of offense (from felony to misdemeanor) and dismissal of penalties?  Or even if there is an expungement process, does this process also exist?  Is the offense you were convicted of also eligible for this process?  It requires the felony offense to have been a "wobbler" that could have been charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.  Where this differs from expungement is that the offense will still show as a criminal charge on a criminal history, but not as a conviction. 

Either process may restore some civil rights that may have been suspended due to the conviction.  Not all civil rights may be restorable, such as being eligible to purchase and possess firearms. 

Where probation comes in to play with any of these processes is that you must have successfully completed probation.  Successfully is defined as no violations and your probation term has completed.  You must also have paid all fines and fees. 

Each state's laws must be researched for each of the above topics to determine which one applies for the jurisdiction you were convicted in.



P. O. Doe


#probation
#probationuncovered
#expungement



Twitter - @PODoe2015
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/probationuncovered/
Email - probationuncovered@gmail.com