"" Bustamante indicates that with many Mexican-Americans employed in low-paying jobs, white Americans assume they have little interest in education, and thus, have no desire to achievee more competitive professional employment. Unfortunately for Mexican-Americans who do possess the drive and ability to attain higher levels of education and employment, the facts and statistics regarding professionals in their ethnic category tend to buttress this characterization. Mexican-Americans in the United States lag behind other Latino groups in employment statistics, as they make up only 6.4 percent of the executive, administrative, and managerial occupations compared to over fifteen percent for Cubans. In response to these statistics regarding Mexican-Americans, the San Francisco Chronicle in 2000 stated that, "`They do all the menial jobs, here. All the labor in the kitchens of the restaurants in the Bay area, installing telephones, landscaping, gardening, construction work. Without their labor, things would be much more expensive."" The Chronicle highlighted the high numbers of working-class Mexican-Americans while citing the low numbers of Mexican-American professionals. One can recognize similar trends across the nation, as statistics from many other states follow such occupational patterns.
In addition to these statistics, many Americans point to the high drop-out rates as an indication of the Mexican-American lack of commitment and dedication to higher education. In 1986, the Los Angeles Times cited the San Diego school district as an example of a Mexican-American community hampered by many students" decisions to quit school. Of over 15,000 Mexican-Americans in the San Diego schools, 25.2 percent dropped out, compared to 14.1 percent of 51,998 white students in the area. In addition, the number of Mexican-Americans who have earned Bachelor degrees after graduating high school has been significantly lower than for any other Hispanic group in the nation; in 2000, only 7 percent of Mexican-Americans earned Bachelor degrees as opposed to 23 percent of Cubans.