Knowledge and work — An outline of the research

This article sets out my current thinking as I explore knowledge and work. It outlines the research under four headings: starting questions, previous research, reflections on the visualization, and questions to explore next.

Starting questions

Two concerns lie behind this research.

The first is how to interpret differences between the number of people who studied a field and the number who consider it important in their work. For example, many people may have studied a particular field, while few say that it is important at work. When we interpret this difference in numbers as a mismatch between the supply of and demand for knowledge, what are we seeing, and what are we missing?

Studying one specialist field may also help people understand related fields and apply their knowledge there. We also need to consider whether we can generalize from the knowledge an individual describes as important in their work to the knowledge demanded in their industry or occupation, or more broadly across industry or the labor market. My intention is not to dismiss earlier surveys or discussions. Rather, while recognizing the limitations of the questions asked, I have wanted to look at relationships that differences in numbers alone cannot reveal.

The second is a longstanding unease with the idea of a straight path from learning to a future job. We ask a child who studies fish enthusiastically, “Are you going to become a fish researcher?” Behind that question, I sense an assumption that it is desirable to enter a job that directly uses what one has learned. I also hear that high school students are commonly advised to choose where to study at university with their future work in mind.

Looking ahead to a future job and treating learning as a stepping stone toward it: is that the only path we should take for granted?

Previous research

I will review previous research carefully and systematically. Alongside studies that directly examine the relationship between fields studied and work, I see research on how public investment in universities connects to graduates’ subsequent activities as relevant to these questions.

Reflections on the visualization

What first struck me in the visualization was the range of fields identified as important at work by respondents from every field of study. People are working while valuing knowledge beyond the specialist field they studied. Seeing this brought a sense of relief: “Yes, this is how the world works.”

Knowledge and work — See the overall picture

At the same time, peaks also appear along the diagonal, where the field studied and the field considered important at work coincide. This means that a certain number of people consider the field they studied important in their work as well. If the people whose fields coincide in this way are also doing well at work, their example may have become established as an easily understood model of the connection between learning and work.

In any case, I want to look both at the diagonal and at the relationships extending beyond it.

Questions to explore next

I want to explore the possibilities of looking at work through knowledge.

Industry, occupation, and field of study are different classifications. Even if we count people in each combination, interpreting the results requires us to consider how those classifications relate to one another. In this visualization, both axes use the same classification of fields of knowledge. I feel that this may allow us to discuss the relationship between learning and work more clearly.

Ways of classifying and describing work continue to be developed to capture its diversity. Within that effort, I want to step back from industry and occupation categories and ask instead, “What knowledge is important in this work?” I hope to examine what this perspective reveals, and what it leaves out.