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When did society start looking down on blue collar jobs?

Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:15 am
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
65142 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:15 am
Since I was a child, society has been telling me that I needed to do good in school so I could go to college and get a degree to ensure a good-paying job. The idea of being a plumber, electrician, mechanic, or any other "low-skilled" job was anathema to the American education system. And yet these blue collar jobs, at least in my estimation, are some of the most important in the country. They keep us up and running. And yet we were told that those were jobs we didn't want. It was so much more appealing to work in a cubicle making six figures. Now that I work in a cubicle and make pretty decent money, I think I'd have rather done the "low skilled" job because my current career path is very technical and very boring.
Posted by oldcharlie8
Baton Rouge
Member since Dec 2012
7808 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:16 am to
quote:

When did society start looking down on blue collar jobs?


they don't
Posted by el Gaucho
He/They
Member since Dec 2010
53061 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:17 am to
How can society look down on us blue collars when our f250s tower above yalls little white collar Priuses?
Posted by poncho villa
DALLAS
Member since Jul 2010
17718 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:17 am to
No those jobs are great for those who can't afford to go to college. But I'm assuming your parents could afford to send you there so why but your arse working an electrician's job when you can work in an office and make the same or more.
Posted by 777Tiger
Member since Mar 2011
73856 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:17 am to
quote:

When did society start looking down on blue collar jobs?


since, never?
Posted by fallguy_1978
Best States #50
Member since Feb 2018
48642 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:18 am to
I agree that we shouldn't push everyone to college and white collar jobs. Some people would make a good auto mechanic but not a great accountant. There's nothing wrong with that.
Posted by StupidBinder
Jawja
Member since Oct 2017
6392 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:18 am to
When we started paying other countries’ poor people to make things for us.

Basically anything done with your hands was “less than” at that point. The pandemic shortages hopefully taught us what a mistake that was.
Posted by fr33manator
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2010
124386 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:18 am to
The only folks I know who look down on blue collar jobs are ones that would be absolutely hopeless when it comes to blue collar work.

You know the type. They think their gender studies degree makes them better than the plumber...until all the used condoms they flushed back the toilet up.
Posted by Loup
Ferriday
Member since Apr 2019
11370 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:18 am to
quote:

And yet we were told that those were jobs we didn't want.


I was never told that.


ETA: there are trade offs. You can make great money with trades but you're usually battling the elements and working long hours. Hell, every welder at work has had at least 1 divorce. It can be tough on family. Money is nice but a lot of the craft guys I know making good money miss a lot of life to make it.
This post was edited on 1/16/23 at 8:43 am
Posted by tiggerthetooth
Big Momma's House
Member since Oct 2010
61307 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:19 am to
Blue collar jobs can be great money but we all have to honest about the nature of the work: the work is difficult, its generally low-paying, laborious, and destroys your body.


There's a reason you don't see many people 50+ in blue collar roles.
Posted by Booyow
Member since Mar 2010
4005 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:19 am to
quote:

Now that I work in a cubicle


Posted by Topwater Trout
Red Stick
Member since Oct 2010
67591 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:20 am to
quote:

No those jobs are great for those who can't afford to go to college.


So 30-40 years ago?
Posted by bayouvette
Raceland
Member since Oct 2005
4744 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:22 am to
They don't like manual labor. Too much coddling got them boys soft.

But it is giving thise out there a great opportunity to make some cash that are still willing. Can easily run your own company.
Posted by Oilfieldbiology
Member since Nov 2016
37558 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:24 am to
Since the GI bill and the establishment of the Department of Education.
This post was edited on 1/16/23 at 8:26 am
Posted by jcaz
Laffy
Member since Aug 2014
15664 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:24 am to
In my eyes, literally no difference between a software engineer and a guy operating a forklift. Either job could be held by ignorant morons and in my experience I have seen both roles with all ranges of personalities.
I came from a blue collar family but managed to get a white collar job but will never forgot my roots and what paid the bills for mom and dad
Posted by Shexter
Prairieville
Member since Feb 2014
13908 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:24 am to
quote:

There's a reason you don't see many people 50+ in blue collar roles.


Most blue collar jobs start out as grunt work, but work into a crew management type position. Some people don't have the mental ability to move up to those positions.
Posted by CaptainsWafer
TD Platinum Member
Member since Feb 2006
58368 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:24 am to
Posted by tiggerthetooth
Big Momma's House
Member since Oct 2010
61307 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:25 am to
quote:

When we started paying other countries’ poor people to make things for us.

Basically anything done with your hands was “less than” at that point. The pandemic shortages hopefully taught us what a mistake that was.



At a fraction of the cost****



Ask hedge fund managers, who are worth billions, if they thought it was a mistake to out source. Ask the Walton family if they thought outsourcing a mistake for their bottom lines. Ask anyone who made money from the stock market if they thought outsourcing was a mistake.

What it did do is create a massive gap in society, rendering many Americans unable to maintain their living standards by simple professions. You had to become a hyper-specialist to make it in the new economy.
Posted by footswitch
New Market
Member since Apr 2015
3940 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:27 am to
quote:

No those jobs are great for those who can't afford to go to college. But I'm assuming your parents could afford to send you there so why but your arse working an electrician's job when you can work in an office and make the same or more.

The best bricklayer I know has a chemical engineering degree.
Quality of life people.
Posted by 985_Tiger
Member since Jul 2021
135 posts
Posted on 1/16/23 at 8:27 am to
Nothing at all wrong with blue collar jobs. Turnaround work and operations in the plants do way better than alot of four year bachelor degree careers.
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