Pete Robertson is Associate Professor of Career Guidance at Edinburgh Napier University. In this article he discusses the importance of thinking about debt as a part of career guidance.

One of the curious things about writing on the topic of careers is how little detailed attention gets paid to the economic factors that affect individual career pathways. Money and economics are present in the literature, but mostly in a very broad-brush way – as labour market analysis, as a structural consideration in society, or sometimes as a barrier or a constraint. Usually, money is mentioned only as a backdrop to psychological or socio-political arguments. 

Graeber on debt

I was reminded of this when I read that the American anthropologist David Graeber had passed away in September 2020. Graeber wrote the book Debt: The first 5,000 years,which made me reflect on how debt and careers are related. He also wrote a critique of how many modern jobs were meaningless, and he was prominent in the anti-capitalist ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement.

Graeber argued that debt is of profound importance. He suggested that it predates the invention of both money and bartering, because in many pre-modern societies exchanges were predominantly with familiar people, so it was both possible and entirely practical to remember who owed what to whom. Money becomes necessary when exchanges are with people you may not see again.

He went on to argue how profoundly embedded debt is in many of our social institutions, including marriage, the state, defence, and religion. He traced the history of those institutions in terms of the role played by debt played. Debt was important in the development of labour markets, and in particular it was deeply linked to the evolution of the institution of slavery.

The issue is not historically remote from us. The modern UK economy has been deeply dependent on household debt, and this vulnerability has been exposed in recent economic crises. Lending to those living in poverty has tended to lack adequate regulation, and has often been on the most unfavourable terms, as in the case of payday loans.

Debt and career decision making

The role played by debt in career decision making, and particularly in the decision that it is not possible to make a career change, has been neglected. There is a spectrum of debt. At its most toxic, debt is associated with bonded labour, which is slavery in all but name. Exploitative labour market relationships may involve an element in which the workers are also debtors. These issues are explicitly addressed in a number of publications by the International Labour Organisation. Most recently, the ILO has reported on the impact of COVID-19 on child and forced labour, and the policy measures that are effective in combatting it. 

An everyday manifestation in the UK is the mortgage for buying a home, which can represent a huge factor in career decision making over several decades of a person’s life. From a Marxist perspective, the mortgage allows lenders – the owners of capital – to harvest some of the fruits of the labour of the debtors, over many years. This economic relationship also channels the choices individuals can make. 

Conversely, some debt, including mortgages, can be an essential tool to convert labour and time into desired outcomes. It can provide access to lifestyles that were not otherwise attainable. Indeed those who are unable to access loans, can be blocked from improving their situation, such as the UK’s ‘generation rent’  who lack the capital to qualify for a mortgage. 

So what?

Debt seems to be ubiquitous in human societies, and is not always a bad thing, as it can facilitate economic exchange. But it clearly has the potential to be a profound influence on career in ways that may sometimes be deeply unjust. As such it deserves more detailed attention in our field. David Graeber shined a light on an issue that is hard to ignore.    

We need to address what this means for a social-justice infused approach to career development. Firstly, we need a greater awareness of the far-reaching impact of debt on careers. Secondly, researchers need to explore the relationship between personal or household finances and career development with greater rigour.

Third and most importantly, practitioners need to look at how they help their service users to access financial advice. Those who most need it are often those with the least access to it. Support with financial planning, managing debt, and welfare-benefits claims can make a huge difference to people’s lives. This can be done through strong referral and signposting, in collaborative working with other agencies. Larger career services should consider employing their own financial advisers as part of a holistic service.