The pressure to pursue higher education is universal. It seems that unless a person attends university they are not achieving their highest potential nor could they possibly have a meaningful and well-paying career. When I was in high school my response to what I wanted to be in the future was either a teacher or a veterinarian. Both seemed enjoyable and rewarding, but even then I wasn't sure. For the most part, I wanted to get a job and work. I had no desire to go to school just for the experience nor did I wish to incur thousands of dollars of debt not knowing what I wanted to pursue. To say I desired to be a wife and mother would not have been acceptable. Truth be told, it's all I ever wanted.
There have been a number of articles and blog posts in recent years placing a monetary value on each of the different services a mother/father provides as a homemaker. A homemaker's work has been valued up to the six figure range. Yet, somehow I still feel like those articles miss the point. Even though a price value can be assigned to each of the tasks she/he performs, by the world's standard it isn't legitimate without some type of authentication.
Let's say I go to university and earn a four year degree. I eventually, marry and have a few children. With each child my maternity leave comes to an end so I hire a nanny. Now if I stayed home to care for my children it would not be considered a "real job", but when I pay a nanny to care for my children all of a sudden (POOF!) it becomes a "real job". Because I want to have time with my children and husband at the end of each day and on the weekends, I choose to hire a housekeeper. Cleaning the toilets has now become a valuable job. But if I clean the toilets myself there is no value in it because no one is getting paid.
We can write volumes on the value of homemaking. Homemaking is the most respected and least valued job at the same time. You don't need a university degree to become one, heck! you don't even need to be a parent! But I think the issue goes beyond homemaking. Until we recognize that every job, no matter how mundane, is valuable with or without compensation; until we recognize that one person's time is as valuable as another's, with or without a degree; until we recognize that there are many types of intelligence, some for which there is no degree, we will always be at a stalemate with regards to giving people a livable wage. We will always assume that unless a person pursues higher education that he/she has wasted their potential. Until that day comes, I won't regret wasting my potential, not one bit.
