Why is it important to develop your human capital?
In 2003, Catherine Omega, a striking brunette wearing a form -fitting bodysuit, joined a group of pioneers who were settling a new online virtual world known as Second Life. Like the real world, Second Life has land, seas, mountains, deserts. towns, and cities. People who join Second Life inhabit this virtual world through digital representatives, or avatars. Residents, as members are called, design their avatars to look however they might wish to appear in their online lives.
Catherine Omega was the avatar of a high school dropout in Vancouver, British Columbia, named Cath erine Winters. Unfortunately for Winters, just as her Second Life was taking shape, her real life was coming apart. She became homeless and for a time lived on Vancouver’s streets. Then she took shelter in an abandoned apartment building that lacked electricity.
Despite the bleakness of her situation, Winters was eager to find a way to return to Second Life. First, she needed to find a source of electricity, which wasn’t difficult. She later recalled, “I had my multi meter and I knoll’ enough not to touch live wires.”
Next, Winters needed a computer and a way to connect to the Internet. “It turns out that a computer capable of running Second Life is difficult to come by when you’re homeless,” she notes. But she was able to assemble a computer from junk parts discarded by computer stores at a nearby recycling facility. Once she had her computer up and running, it wasn’t hard to pick up a wireless Internet connection from a nearby building.
Back on Second Life, Catherine Omega became known for her programming ability. Soon other Residents were hiring Winters in real life to do programming for them. In 2006, Winters found a full-time job as the Second Life coordinator for a Vancouver Web developer. By then she had moved into her own apartment. “It’s pretty tiny,” she said of her new home, “but it’s clean and all mine.”
While she was homeless, Winters had developed her human capital to the point where she could start a new career. Although her story is unusual, it has relevance for anyone thinking about entering the labor force. In this chapter, you will read about trends that are shaping the labor market today. You will also learn how you can develop your own human capital as you prepare to enter the workforce.