RURAL YOUTH 5 



(boys) earned more than $1,000 during the year preceding this study. Of the 

 boys in school (but not in vocational training schools), half made less than $100; 

 the rest, between $100 and $400. The girls in school earned even less. Three out 

 of five earned nothing, and 87 percent of the remainder reported an income of 

 less than $100. 



Of the boys not in school, a third earned less than $200; another third, between 

 $200 and $600; and the remainder, something over $600. .For the out-of-school 

 girls, $800 seemed to be the maximum income toward which anyone could aspire; 

 only one received more than this amount during the year. 



Most of the jobs wanted by these young people were well witiiin the limits of 

 possible achievement. Nearly all the boys in vocational agricultural .schools 

 were looking, quite naturally, to farming and related occupations for a lifework. 

 Of the rest, more than half wanted work in agricultural or mechanical trades. 

 Sixteen percent of the boys in school, and 5 percent of those out of school had ex- 

 pectations of becoming professional men. 



Ambitions of the girls stil! in school were somewhat higher than those of the 

 girls whose formal education was completed, perhaps because those in the latter 

 group realized that further training for them v/as unlikely. Principal occupational 

 choices of the school girls were clerical and secretarial work, nursing, and teach- 

 ing. Less than a fifth chose homemaking. Of the girls not in .school, nearly one 

 in four gave homemaking as her choice, and one in five chose clerical or secretarial 

 work. Such occupations as mill work, domestic help, and salesgirl were listed 

 frequently by this group of girls, but not at all by those in school. 



Both boys and girls apparently were vague as to the requirements of their 

 chosen occupations and the difficulties of getting started in them. But the ones 

 who were in school showed more optimism than those out of school regarding 

 the chances of getting the jobs they wanted. This emphasizes the need, already 

 sensed by the young people, for vocational guidance adapted to their situation. 



Of the boys planning to enter into farming, most of those who answered the 

 question indicated that .savings from wages would furnish the necessary capital. 

 Although some boys mentioned working on other farms, the majority regarded a 

 factory job as the best method of getting started. They planned to start out in 

 a small way and continue on a part-time basis. 



The Education of Rural Youth 



From responses given by these rural youths to the questions concerning educa- 

 tion, It was possible to obtain a description of their opportunities for formal 

 education, some measure of the degree of satisfaction derived from their schooling, 

 and some idea as to their plans and needs for the future. 



Most of the young people had some high-school training. Those still in school 

 numbered 386, and of these 4 were in grammar school, 6 in post-high-school 

 business training, 10 in college, and the rest in high or vocational schools. 



About half of the 175 out-of-school boys and girls had the equivalent of a high- 

 school education. Only four had attended college. The remainder had com- 

 pleted grammar school and in some instances one or more years of high-school 

 training. It should be remembered that only young people still living in rural 

 areas Were studied and that a disproportionate number of high-school and college 

 graduates may have left their home towns. 



To the question "Do you think your schooling has helped or will help you to 

 get ahead?", 92 percent of the boys, and 88 percent of the girls answered "yes." 



