The Indispensable Hand

How the blue collar class is slandered.

Überlegen Auge
Jul 27, 2017 · 6 min read

The preponderance to this piece, was my inspiration to unveil the unfair light shone on blue collar jobs, many of which are well paying. That said, I hope you enjoy this article, make sure to like and follow Überlegen Auge!

Introduction

When examining the very foundation of civilizations, both modern and ancient, all share one trait in common. That being, the inarguable fact that the dreams of visionaries were recognized through, and by a workforce.

The truth behind this, lies within the relationship between countless contributors, in which society is reliant upon in order to progress. Common sense and rationale reveals this.

Examples include the pyramids of Egypt, they had to be built, and it was the workforce that built them. The Colosseum, it was pieced together by a laboring class as well. Also, don’t forget structures like homes. They were assembled by workers as well.

Within each of these construction projects, engineers, architects, construction workers, all had to coherently function to recognize the visionaries’ dream. However, of these groups, there is one that seems to be mistreated, and or misrepresented in the present, in contrast to the other fields.


A Rainbow of Collars

Many already understand the differences between white and blue collared workers. On the contrary, very few, especially people of my generation, understand the distinction between the occupations of any other collar.

In my anecdotal experience, which isn’t statistically relevant, students my age aren’t aware other collars exist. So to clarify for anyone who isn’t informed on this topic, all of the different occupations and their colors will be presented below.

The Collar Rainbow

  1. White Collar: works in an office, administrative, or a managerial role.
  2. Blue Collar: works with their hands, providing manual labor.
  3. Green Collar: works in any environmental section of the economy.
  4. Pink Collar: works in the service industry.
  5. Gold Collar: works in a highly skilled and in demand field.
  6. Red Collar: works in the government.
  7. Grey Collar: works in both the white and blue collar field.

Importance of Collaboration

As opined in the introductory segment, all of society in a historical and modern context, was built on the backs of workers who labored simultaneously towards similar goals.

In other words, pink, black, grey, red, white, blue and green collar workers all had their place in the past, and still play their roles in the present.

None of them can be dismissed as useless or less important. To do so, would be like deeming one of your organs less valuable than the others. In reality, if one organ were to be absent, said individual wouldn’t function soundly. In the same sense that each of our body parts hurt together, function in relation to one another, and thrive when operating properly.

We as humans hurt together. Our industries are interconnected in the light of societal advancement, and they end up all thriving as one, but only if they thrive together. This scenario is designed to highlight how crucial it is for all fields to function efficiently, and gives us a goal to set for what we should ideally shoot for.


Blue Class Skills Gap

Taken that industries are interdependent on one another, it’s only reasonable that’d we’d promote people to enter all industries, rather than a select few, right? Well, after further research, it turns out this isn’t exactly the case.

In fact, America has wound up in a pickle called the skills gap, where there’s employers willing to hire, but no one has the skills to fill the jobs. This phenomenon is well explained by CNN Money.

“…so far this year, for every job opening, about 30 people apply on average. Of those applicants, less than 20% meet the qualifications for the job, according to Corporate Executive Board, a research group.” ~CNNMoney

This reveals extremity of the skills gap, and how it’s a huge hurdle for America. The article went on to describe the job openings as positions that require skills higher than a high school diploma, but no higher than an associate’s degree.

“Middle skill jobs are ones that require more experience than a high school diploma but less than a 4-year college degree — for example, a truck driver.” ~CNNMoney

So the question is, why are so many blue collar jobs, which generate decent income, left untouched?


Blue Class Slander

Throughout my school career, blue collar work has, and still is considered by my peers, to be “below” them. The irony in this narrative, is that the same pretentious individuals then run off to work at a coffee shop that pays mediocre wages.

Of course, this is an anecdotal example, but there really is an actual issue with our schooling system in this regard, that can be backed with objective evidence, that being the skills gap mentioned previously.

Unemployment is currently at 4.3% according to Bureau Labor statistics, and it’s causation isn’t due to a lack of available jobs. Business insider reported that a 2016 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed there were 5.7 million jobs available in the US in march.

“ …there were 5.757 million jobs available in the US in March — a near record.” ~Business Insider

Many of these jobs were blue collar, yet they aren’t being filled, because no one has the skills to fill them. The only explanation, as to why these skills aren’t learned, is because our education system fails to promote the field, so the skills may be taught.

Personally, I was granted the opportunity to explore one of these alternative routes, and in a few weeks, i’ll be an official machinist in training. However, it isn’t exaggerated enough in school to really implement a wide-scale change. What school pushes for, rather than the encouragement of blue collar work, is college. There’s nothing wrong with higher education, however, as Mike Rowe said.

“The cost of college has just gone through the roof, and yet, we still talk about it as if it is truly the best way for the most people, $1.3 trillion in student loans, it’s not a mystery…There is no hope without an education, got to be clear, you have to have some competency. But the idea that the best path for the most people just happens to be the most expensive path, there’s just something fundamentally corrupt…” ~Mike Rowe

Mike Rowe is onto something too, because the notion that’s pushed, and that I perceived to be true, is that an expensive university is the only means to earning a living wage. Well, thankfully because of my brilliant personal finance teacher, Emmanuel Young, I was encouraged to think differently.

He never directly told my class to look into blue collar jobs, however, he encouraged new, and different thinking, which lead to my discovery of several new opportunities.

One of which, was my machinist training opportunity at South Technical High School. With this new insight of mine, I begun to discover that the idea the only way to earn decent money is through expensive schooling, is ridiculous.

According to government statistics, Machining is growing at the average rate of 6%, and they’ll make $43,000 annually on average, but can work their way up to a higher paying position.

The same case is all too common with other blue collar jobs, and some welders are making six figures. But unfortunately, the image far too many people negotiate with these workers, is low pay.


Conclusion

As mentioned in the earlier, all fields should be unbiasedly pushed fourth, because all play key roles in societal advancement to an extraordinary degree. Yet one of the fields is being treated unfairly by our educational system.

It is slandered to be some loathsome industry with low pay, when the exact opposite is the case. This has lead to the skills gap, and many complications. If we expect to continue the construction of this society, we need to show the blue collar industries some respect, because we can’t build it on our backs alone. Blue collar workers, are, the indispensable hand.

Überlegen Auge

Written by

Engineer in training, experimental blacksmith, writer, and self proclaimed Übermensch. Welcome to Überlegen Auge, the superior eye.

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