n Heritage. This plays a large role in the problem they face when looking for skilled jobs. Researchers have said that their young age places a major barrier when seeking jobs outside of the blue collar market. Most Dominicans enter the full-time workforce here in America around age 16 or 17, no time at all for a proper education. 55% of the Dominican-American population has not graduated from high school, and only 4% have obtained some type of college degree. Dominican-Americans even have a relatively low education and skill level when compared to that of Dominicans in the Dominican Republic. Like most other ethnic immigrants Dominican adults need literacy and English language instruction while their children need better schools. The vast majority of jobs filled by Dominicans are unskilled blue collar positions. These positions require little or no formal education, and English skills are almost un-needed. Factors such as these make it easy for Dominican-Americans to acquire these jobs. But these same jobs, pay bare minimum, or below bare minimum wages .In 1998 the average wage for a Dominican-American was $12,810, which is a deep plunge below our poverty level (Calderon, p. 134-136). As if these conditions were not an immense enough problem for Dominican-Americans, they also face the discriminatory racial, cultural and ethnic barriers, placed on them by America.As a people striving for identification here in America, Dominican-Americans have had to endure improper racial labeling, as had most people of color in American society. 2/3 of Dominicans are of Afro-European decent and the smaller 1/3 of mainly African decent. The key word in both descriptions of their ethnicity refer back to Africa for its roots. But yet when having to identify with a racial group here in America, because they are a Spanish speaking people society forces them to choose Hispanic or Latin, and deny their African/Black heritage and roots. Physically Dominicans...
