Latinos´ Favorite Careers

Isis Artze reports in this article (Hispanic, March 2000) that engineering has become a favorite career choice. Four percent of all U.S. engineers, or 80,000 professionals, were Hispanic in 1974. The reasons are not clear, but she cites income potential and the greater availability of financial aid in technical fields as possible explanations. Not to be discounted are the contributions made by SHIP (the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) since its founding in 1974. With 170 student chapters boasting a membership of 5,300, and 42 professional chapters with more than 1,500 members, Artze believes that "its role in encouraging Latino students to study engineering cannot be dismissed".

Other fields popular with Hispanics are teaching and the service professions. Brian Carter, director of career services at the University of Texas at El Paso, believes that since many students are the first in their families to attend college, teachers are the only professional role models they have seen. Spanusa´s Manuel Boado adds that the "people orientation" of Hispanic-American culture also plays a role.

In his book The Americano Dream: How Latinos Can Achieve Success in Business and in Life (Plume,1999), Leonel Sosa concludes that there is "a deep desire among graduates to work in their own communities," to serve their own people in teaching and other service capacities. Primarily directing his remarks to Mexican-Americans, Sosa argues that other types of professionals, as well as businessmen, are needed also. Most of the book explores why Latinos have failed to achieve their potential. The author links it to the feudal culture that he believes evolved in Mexico following the Spanish conquest.  This insight is useful for managers assisting Mexican-Americans in overcoming challenges in the workplace.