I became a college student at nearly forty-one years old, because I found I could no longer find a job without a college degree. I have also found that I am not alone. Several of the people that I went to high school with have also become first-time college students in the last few years. My parents were not in a position to send me to college and at the time a high school diploma was enough to find a job with a living wage. A couple of years after I graduated I found a job I liked and settled in. I worked my way up and by my mid-twenties was making enough to support myself comfortably. When I was thirty-five the company closed and I found it difficult to find a job that paid enough for me to support myself. I went from a job where I was making almost fifteen dollars an hour to a job making less than ten dollars an hour. Then the recession started and I was laid off and could not find a job at all. After being unemployed for more than a year I finally realized that I was going to have to get a college degree in order to survive. I cannot imagine trying to do all of this and have a family to take care of, so I can understand why many people postpone marriage until they have finished college. Question – Are the differences between the upper and middle class just financial? There is obviously a financial gap between the socio-economic classes, but when looking at the female cohorts in the study I found myself wondering if that was the only issue. The data gathered about the Great Crossover tells us that women that are college educated are not a part of the event (Hymowitz et al. 2013:8). On the other hand, women from Middle America are delaying marriage, but still having children at the age they would have previously (Hymowitz et al. 2013:7). The study looks at the reason marriage is delayed from a financial stand point and the data supports the theory that marriage is being delayed for financial reasons. However, the reason that Middle American women are having children before marriage is not really explained. The authors of study do point to the changing acceptability of having a child out of wedlock and idea that marriage is no longer considered necessary to have a child in today’s world (Hymowitz et al. 2013:26). But this does not explain why the trend of having children prior to marriage is not happening across all economic classes and education levels. I believe that the changing economic environment that Middle Americans find themselves in could be altering class culture and family expectations. Middle class families see college as something that is important, but parents often struggle to pay tuition for their children (Seccombe 2012:59). …show more content…
One of the main reasons people used to marry for was to start a family, but the authors of Knot Yet note that “it is increasingly viewed as a relic of the past” (Hymowitz et al. 2013:8). It is not surprising that the marriage and parenthood are no longer as connected as they once were, many adults today either grew up in households that did not have both parents or knew someone who did (Hymowitz et al. 2013:26). While I can understand why the young adults of today believe that children are not a reason for marriage it also worries me. We are already seeing an increase in unwed mothers and the idea that marriage and kids are not connected indicates that the number will continue to rise. The growing independence of women has also changed the reasons that they marry. In the past women were not able to support themselves financially and that has changed, especially for women with college degrees. During that time women often married for financial security, but now that are searching for the right person (Hymowitz et al. 2013:34). The fact that women are able to marry on their own terms and marry someone they believe is right for them is a significant