Can we PLEASE remove the stigma for blue collar work in America?
“You don’t wanna be a garbage collector when you grow up, do you?”
$34,000 a year, no college needed?
God forbid you take an honest job $7,000 above Michigan’s average cost of living line.
“You don’t wanna be a ditch digger.”
Bitch, I was making $15 an hour, post tax, doing exactly that, the fuck is wrong with it? (Other than it was physically exhausting.)
We need to help America, as a whole, understand that college is not, and should not be he only option, and that there is NO SHAME in trade school or even getting a career right out of high school.
I, personally, know plumbers making $80,000+ a year. Better than most 4 year degree workers.
We need plumbers, janitors, truck-drivers, garbage collectors, machinists, to keep this nation running smoothly. And they deserve respect for what they do.
Miss me with your classist bullshit.
(He said, as he attends a 4 year college to get a degree in education and make $38,000 a year…)
Everything you said is 100% correct my guy
My dad makes $24 an hour as an electronics technician, with specialization in radar systems. No college degree.
^^^
my father is an electrician and has supported his whole family for almost 30 years with that job. He loves it, he’s good at it, and I’m damn proud of him.
The US infrastructure is crumbling due to this classist nonsense. Don’t get me started on higher education and the student loan racket.
Less than $80,000 a year and over $400,000 in student loan debt after 10 years of post-high school education here. Anything that keeps you fed no matter what level of education, I respect that. I love what I do and even knowing what I do I can’t see changing it. But if you can do something that you’re good at and that supports you for less debt or more money – do it!
This is absolutely right. These are jobs that can't be outsourced. I'm a college professor and I wholeheartedly agree that college is being over-emphasized. I have tried to bring this up in multiple settings, but--because I am a professor--people assume I'm saying something about the intellectual abilities of students, being elitist, etc.
Part of the problem is that we tend to define people by their job, making all kinds of assumptions about what that means. My partner has no college degree and is entirely self-educated in organic gardening. He does hard, physical labor well, but does so much more.
There's honor in doing a job well and we are losing skills by not emphasizing apprentice training, etc. We need to reframe the discussion about education and job training. A large part of that means talking about class. If there is one thing we have an even harder time talking about than race, it is class.
