There Is No Such Thing as “Unskilled Labor”
Quick, name a job that requires absolutely no skill.
I can probably take a guess at the kind of job most people would pick: Flipping burgers at McDonald’s, running a cash register at Wal-Mart, possibly even the bane of everyone’s existence which is telemarketing.
You get the gist. The kinds of jobs that we would call “unskilled labor” are ones that don’t require any special training — no specific educational background, no job experience. Anyone can walk in off the street and do this job. It doesn’t take any unique skills.
And yet…
“I don’t know how you do it, I could never do that job.”
The number of times I’ve been told this about “unskilled” jobs I’ve worked just floors me.
The problem comes with the assumption that if something doesn’t require a specific degree or certification, it doesn’t involve any skill. And sure, you could teach anyone to follow a script, run a cash register, etc.; they don’t need to have a special background to do it, so therefore it’s “unskilled labor,” right?
NOPE.
What has made people tell me they could “never do my job” is never about the mechanics of the job, or the specific physical tasks you need to complete to do it.
