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Janet Solis-Sept. 4th Assignment- Weber

Hi Class,

My name is Janeth and I migrated to this country at the age of 9 with my parents and younger brother from Colombia. As an immigrant who has always been surrounded by a very hard working family, I hold a great deal of respect and admiration for all those who have paved the way for us all. I received my first job at the age of 16, as one of m High School’s teacher recommended me to a colleague who was looking for students to work at her costume jewelry shop on the weekends. I recalled taking the Long Island Railroad with three other classmates to Amityville, long Island on Saturdays, for an entire school year. I enjoyed that experience very much. I feel for the most part, that I have been very fortunate in most of my jobs that I have held. I believe that this Sociology of Work class will give us a better understanding of what is currently happening in the work force. I Especially believe it will help us decipher what our current politicians are trying to persuade us to believe about the current work markets.

I was recently promoted to administrative manager of personnel and academic affairs to the division of Cardiology at Columbia Medical Center. I have been working for Columbia University for about 10 years and have been very fortunate to have wonderful working environments. As for the work history of my grandparents, both sets of grandparents worked in Farms. My fathers’ parents own their own land and my mother’s parents were field workers. Both sets of grand parents were both very hard working as they often told stories of how early they were up working. As for my parents my mom was a stay at home mom and my dad worked as a mechanic. When we moved to the states they both when to work in factories, my mom as a seamstress and my dad as a technician who repaired the sewing machines.

I believe that my grandparents and parents have always stressed the importance of giving your all in whatever we were doing. My parents didn’t get a chance to go on to college because they were busy making a living and supporting their family, but they have always stressed the importance of finishing what we have started, therefor I have always wanted to finish my degree as I had to stop going to school to raise my kids. I give my parents thanks for being my role models and for teaching the importance of working hard.

In reading Max Weber’s excerpt, the statement that stuck out to me was when he quotes a writer trying to show the difference of the attitudes between the protestant and the Catholic religions, towards the economic life:

” The Catholic is quieter, having less of the acquisitive impulse; he prefers a life of the greatest possible security, even with a smaller income, to a life of risk and excitement, even though it may bring the chance of gaining honor and riches. The proverb says jokingly, “Either eat well or sleep well”. In the present case the Protestant prefers to eat well, the Catholic to sleep undisturbed” (p 8).

This statement very clearly states how the Protestantism believes largely influenced people to work hard to be able to accumulate wealth and live well. As per Catholicism influence people to take care of themselves and live peaceful lives, without stressing and killing themselves working. My parents raised us with Catholics believes that have influenced my work ethics. I do work hard because it’s the right thing to do not because I will get rich. My parents worked hard to make sure we had a roof over our heads but they stressed the value of our family and providing a good foundation for their children.