Ask a child what they want to be when they grow up and you’ll hear answers like “I want to be a doctor” or “I want to be an architect” or maybe “I want to be a professional athlete!” While all of those are noble and lucrative pursuits, you’ll seldom hear professions such as plumbers, carpenters, masons, or even electricians. Some parents might even scoff at their children if they say they want to be skilled workers. And this is where society may be divided when it comes to how they perceive blue-collar jobs. As humble as they may sound, they’re as important as other jobs that are deemed more “prestigious.”.
Here are a few reasons why being a skilled worker is not a bad career path:
They are a staple in every industry
Have you ever looked at a building and got stunned by how beautiful it looks? Or have you praised your neighbor’s garden and said “nice lawn”. Maybe you’ve gone down for a nice, fancy date at a restaurant and was satisfied with the food and drinks that were served. Oftentimes, we praise the end product but forget to consider how it was prepared or made. These are just some of the products of skilled workers. Without them, you wouldn’t see tall buildings erected throughout your city skyline or even your own house! Every industry out there, including the ones for a general contractor in Utah, needs a human element and blue-collar work is ever-present during those phases.
They are highly specialized
Blue-collar workers are highly specialized in their jobs. For example, an electrician is solely focused on installing the wiring necessary for electricity to run through the whole structure. Truck drivers are experts in handling the wear and tear of interstate travel and back. It takes years of training and on the job experience to be good at what they do. It takes even more dedication to master those skills, enough to be given a higher position. Some even invest special training courses and seminars to earn licenses.
They handle high-risk jobs
If you work at a high-rise building, you may wonder how your windows get cleaned from the outside. Window cleaners wipe the windows while on a descending platform. Speaking of heights, solar power installers also do the same thing except that aside from the height risk, there’s also the concern of whether the installation itself would work like it’s supposed to. Many blue-collar jobs involve on-site work that includes risky operations that, gone wrong, may lead to accidents.
More than anything else, skilled work provides people with a source of income. In the US alone, there are at least 1.2 million blue-collar workers, and that number is still growing. Yes, they don’t earn as much as businessmen, doctors, and game developers, but without them, modern society wouldn’t function the way it does. Look at roads, shopping malls, housing projects, or even your gadgets – those are the things you can’t enjoy and have access to without skilled workers. So, the next time your plumber does a good job in making sure your pipes are not leaking, show appreciation.
