ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how higher education’s expectations and standards of social mobility and professionalism lead to the devaluing and exclusion of people from working-class or blue-collar backgrounds in the field, many times unconsciously and yet often damaging. It suggests ways to view the class capital of poor and working-class individuals as assets and support those from working-class or blue-collar backgrounds to more effectively engage class in creating an inclusive work space. Social class is about more than what individuals do for a living or the economic capital they possess. Education can be experienced as a “harsh version of basic training about class, class conflict, and differing class values,” which can result in “class shame and embarrassment”, particularly in academia. Class identity can intersect with many aspects of the job search, including but not limited to an individual’s alma mater and degrees, style of dress, and negotiation skills.
