Blue collar jobs

[naes420]

Im just curious how and why some of you are forced into blue collar jobs? Failed dreams? Not enough money for college? Choice? Laziness?

 

[ItsOnNow]

What you mean by blue collar?

 

[DonJuan11]

White collar - salaried professional
Blue collar - manual labour

---------------------------------

Be so good they can't ignore you.

 

[I.A.F.Y.B.]

I work for a goverment job landscaping parks in my city. It's a blue collar job but, I make 20 dollars an hour. I hated school and never went to college. I'm happy with my job and the income I make. I'm still young; in my early twenties so I got time to make other choices.

 

[naes420]

I work for a goverment job landscaping parks in my city. It's a blue collar job but, I make 20 dollars an hour. I hated school and never went to college. I'm happy with my job and the income I make. I'm still young; in my early twenties so I got time to make other choices.

Perfect example of what I'm wanting to hear! Thank man.

 

[BoredDude]

Some people don't enjoy school so they decide not to go onto college, which cuts down on their opportunities. Also, some people are just lazy and deserve what they get. Some people are not smart enough to hold a white collar job so they end up getting a blue collar job. Other people choose to drink every night of the weekend instead of studying.

Some people have addictions or diseases that ruined their opportunities, these may not be permanent but lead them to being in the working class. Also, a lot of the blue collar workers I know felt like college was useless at the time (these people were graduating high school in the late 70s early 80s)

 

[naes420]

studying....hmmmm

 

[DonutMan]

I'm in grad school now for social work. But I worked a blue collar job for two years after I got my bachelors, and most people where I worked said that they didn't mind doing it because they make more money then most of their friends that went to college. Although this may be true of entry level jobs, on average people who go get a college degree and a professional job will eventually outperform most blue collar people.

It was nice for a while and for the most part I was making more money then most of my friends that graduated with me, but I couldn't handle doing it for the next 40 years. On the other hand some people just like an easy job, where you don't have to take any worries home with you.

Another thing that I noticed was that a lot of people start doing it right out of high-school just to take a break from school. They initially intend on going back after a year or two. But since they are making some decent money they buy a car/boat/motorcycle and get into debt someway and don't think they can afford to quit. You only have as much money as you don't spend. So many people live beyond their means to try to impress people, in the end they lose.

 

[rocco]

manual labor jobs are not so bad if you think about it a certain way.. if your stuck in a office all day everyday you dont get as much of a workout as compared to working out in the fields under the sun.

doing physical labor + out in the sun all day = will get a nice tan and fit body

 

[BoredDude]

Yes, but not all blue collar jobs are out in the sun. My summer job, for now, is to cut the bindings off of college books for 8 hours a day in a dusty factory. Fun? Not at all and I can't wait to get a white collar job.

 

[Bible_Belt]

The average starting salary from my law school is $40,000/yr...if you can even find a job. Some people I know passed the bar last July and are still jobless.

By comparison, I once looked at aircraft mechanic school in Florida. After an 18 month program, you get a job making $40k/yr. And unlike the seven-year law degree, you can actually get a job.

So white collar is not always wealthier. Also, in any blue-collar trade, if you learn it well and can later open your own business offering that service, there is no limit to your income potential.

 

[The Inside Man]

I'm waiting til rehab from surgery to get back into serving at a steakhouse. I guess it is considered blue collar although we wear white button downs to work ! You can make some serious dough, meet people your age(lots of chicks too), and pay the bills while going to grad school. thats the story for me. I tried insurance sales and marketing at an up and coming firm but it was too intense to keep up w/ my school schedule.

 

[Ken785]

The average starting salary from my law school is $40,000/yr...if you can even find a job. Some people I know passed the bar last July and are still jobless.

By comparison, I once looked at aircraft mechanic school in Florida. After an 18 month program, you get a job making $40k/yr. And unlike the seven-year law degree, you can actually get a job.

So white collar is not always wealthier. Also, in any blue-collar trade, if you learn it well and can later open your own business offering that service, there is no limit to your income potential.

EXACTLY....if you open up your own business, you can make a ton of money and also youre an ENTREPRENEUR, If you work for someone else...sure you get a nice cubicle or office and dress up in a suit everyday and have a nice title to impress the people around you...but working to make someone else rich and to have uncle sam dip his hand in a big chunk of your pay isnt for everyone. Not everybody wants to be a puppet controlled by the man and uncle sams.

 

[Ken785]

Oh yeah...MODS, please move to AE.

 

[BoredDude]

Who says a person working a white collar job won't walk out some day and start their own business? And if a person is truly smart they will climb the corporate ladder quickly and might eventually become the "man" themselves. Although I do agree that a person working a blue collar job could start their own business I don't see too many now a days. Maybe this is because we tell everyone college is necessary for success I don't know.

 

[Ken785]

Who says a person working a white collar job won't walk out some day and start their own business? And if a person is truly smart they will climb the corporate ladder quickly and might eventually become the "man" themselves. Although I do agree that a person working a blue collar job could start their own business I don't see too many now a days. Maybe this is because we tell everyone college is necessary for success I don't know.

Yeah you could climb the corporate ladder...but how long will it take to get to the top?...decades even if youre good enough to make it that far. Start your own business and you ARE on top and your income all depends on how you produce.

 

[Teflon_Mcgee]

I wouldn't mind a blue collar job if I could make good money.

As the son if a carpenter, I've always enjoyed carpentry and concrete (though I've never held them as occupations.) Of course I hate working in the cold and rain.

Likewise I loved being an infantryman in the Marine Corps. Problem there is my body is destroyed, not enought money for the lifestyle I want, and makes it difficult on family life (which I want in the future.)

But mainly it just comes down to money.

 

[Bible_Belt]

I have read that if you divided all the money in the US, it comes out to several million dollars per person. I bet if we re-distributed all of the wealth evenly amongst the people and let things run their course, within six months all of the same rich people would have all of the money again and the poor would be poor again.

 

[Poonani Maker]

I chose blue collar because I looked around me, saw phDs outta work, recognized that I had flimsy bachelors in Finance, needed a quick-fix to acquire me the most money in the shortest amount of time, and busted my azz to attain the best blue collar job out there, as far as pay, benefits, and pension. Now, my job I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, very stressful, but I've made my decision and I'm gonna stick with it as long as I can. Good luck to you! Plus, last I checked salaried emplOyEEs don't have a union to back them up.

 

[BoredDude]

Unions are the worst thing known to man.