Essay Example on Blue-Collar Jobs: Unsung Heroes of Society

Informal jobs are more essential than formal ones, yet the former is deemed second fiddle rather than otherwise. Blue-collar jobs are usually associated with second-class traits. A society cannot run without onsite services, and it is therefore absurd and unfathomable why and how the modern employment systems skew value towards white-collar jobs. Notwithstanding that, it is deemed difficult to quantify milestones achieved by office workers. Insofar as education is concerned, more energy should get shifted towards apprentice learning. Learning while practising is more real and in touch with reality than learning through formal learning, which is equivalent to investing in abstract knowledge. Learning through experiencing events is a form of education that integrates problem-solving skills emanating from a process of committing and correcting errors. The time is ripe when new systems that will seek to attain equality in society need to be introduced. Time has vindicated that white-collar jobs are interestingly overrated. It is deemed first-class, yet an affluent society cannot survive without services that are applicable on the ground. Astonishingly, blue-collar jobs are considered second fiddle in the existential employment systems. It beats logic. Notably, daily activities conducted by office workers are strenuous to track.

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Blue-collar jobs are usually associated with gruelling engagements that sometimes are deemed surreal based on their nature. Ironically, it inhibits an aspect of measurability that is lacking in office work. The trail of cause and effect is invisible, thus hindering responsibility. Dilbert opined that life in the office is akin to working in a cubicle; he also likened it to dark absurdism. Knowledge workers were expected to outshine high-school shop-class programs. They were learning in systems that were meant to educate learners via practical processes, assimilating knowledge pragmatically. It is argued that without learning by engaging one's hands, then such knowledge is more abstract; hence, passion for education may not be achieved in totality. White-collar jobs are overrated to a level whereby professions that require intellectual gifts such as mechanical are looked at, and parents regard it prestigious when their children excel to executive institutions in the offices. People working in blue-collar jobs have jargon for lucky days, as they are more business-oriented. People living near the Bering Sea resonate with the term "Deadliest Catch," a term used to define Crab fishermen in the Bering Sea, a renowned commercial endeavour, people who engage in the activity, they are pretty comfortable, as it acts as a source of food for them (Matthew 1). Yet, these types of jobs are tarnished by being branded "dirty jobs." Take, for instance, a person working as a waitress. A waitress can endure working late in the night; sometimes, the family may sleep late waiting for one of them. Waitresses, too, have jargon associated with their workspaces, one may hear words such as "fry four on two." Seating regions in restaurants are also assigned unique names, such as racetracks, which names given to front spaces representing the first turnover front region.

The restaurant environment is educative and impactful, given the fact that one learns a new thing every day. Notwithstanding, they are jobs reserved for people deemed weak in academics, elementary school dropouts, and people with patchy academic records (Rose 2). Intelligence is considered a tenet of formal education, valued by the type, length, and quantity of it consumed. The bias concerning relating intelligence with formal education has been passed on cross-generational through culture since the Revolutionary War era henceforth. One can imagine mechanics being regarded as illiterates by political elites, absurd! In that regard, they were deemed unworthy of participating in government. Blue-collar jobs include casual jobs, and the desperate people are taunted as a bunch of dummies by some employees. The working class has been viewed from the perspective of the value; they elicit in workspaces instead of the thoughts required, a vital omission per se. Stereotypes associated with intelligence and places of work are rampant yet misguided. Unfortunately, they affect how people make assumptions about themselves, and they influence perceptions concerning knowledge. Thus, they affect how the mind is used for learning in society.

Despite the differing attitudes associated with white- and blue-collar jobs, one cannot deny the fact that they are both engaging in intrigues. The motor vehicle industry, for instance, consists of activities that are deafening, speed-demanding, and involve knowledge of chemicals. While formal education and learning through apprentices are all crucial sources of knowledge, formal education may have been overemphasized and overrated. While knowledge acquired through formal learning it is ranked higher than insights obtained through rational processes, and the latter is deemed to be more stable, it enables the participation of the body in acquiring skills. Learning through apprentice requires commitment, without which no conspicuous milestones can be achieved (Rose 3). Informal learning constitutes skills of problem-solving; one learns through making mistakes and regrouping in mind, intended to avoid similar mistakes in the future, a rhetorical kind of education. Formal education was intended to form an information-based economy. One may be excused to say that formal education loses its touch with reality by assuming physical services such as repair services and plumbing cannot be executed over a virtual network; it has to exist in a physical, tangible space. Thus, blue-collar jobs are more critical, yet more underrated and deemed second class without substantive reason. Some say that elementary knowledge is sufficient to aid one sail through blue-collar jobs, maybe it is because it engulfs casual labourers, persons clustered in the least paid categories.

Alluding that blue-collar jobs are second-class is a subversion of tenets of logic and reasoning. Thinking that working in an office is more implies more success than working in one of the blue-collar professions is not based on logic, one can make an equally successful career; mechanics are academics. Still underrated, stemming from the nature of their jobs, they are not office-oriented, which is probably the reason for being deemed second fiddle. Indeed, blue-collar jobs are probably more real than white-collar jobs, and they are measurable; one can quantify the amount of work at the end of the day. Contemporary society cannot afford to disregard services engulfed by informal jobs and off-office commercial engagements. An average community requires the services of a plumber to unclog conduits. Allan Blinder is seemingly right when he says that the current labour market is skewed towards people who can offer services via a wire and also those who provide services that require physical presence. In that regard, blue-collar jobs are more important than white collar.

It is clear that white-collar jobs are much overrated; they are not among the essential services required in an underlying economy; they are difficult to quantify, yet highly regarded. The aim of shifting eyeballs to office jobs was to form an affluent society, dependent on information as the basis for investments, an information economy. Whether that aspect has been achieved is questionable. Still, there is no doubt that blue-collar jobs are vital in society, and their importance cannot and should not be underestimated. How could modern society survive without people fixing their cars, unclogging sewer system intricacies and building new houses. Despite their advantages in general society, informal jobs constitute hazards posed by eventualities in the line of duty. Formal situations also have risks, but these risks are more surreal than real. Take the undertakings of a manager; for example, most challenges facing a substantial percentage of managers are related to corporate restructuring, not physical (Matthew 5). Decisions made by managers in the corporate world can be overturned; their choices are not final. On the other hand, the entrepreneur’s decisions are autonomous in their spheres of influence; their say is final.

Conclusion

As it stands, blue-collar jobs are fundamentally more important than white-collar jobs, yet they are comparatively more underrated. Information economies have not provided any proof that they are worth the hype. Onsite services are required for society to run effectively. Parents ought to abandon the idea of displaying to their children that office jobs are more prestigious than blue-collar ones. It is high time more emphasis is laid on education that is guided by practical procedures, learning through mistakes and a problem-solving approach. Probably, it is high time to delve into discussions of changing the focus to blue-collar jobs; after all, they employ a larger population. It would add significant details in the ongoing arguments concerning inequalities in society. Any form of governance willing to solve issues of difference in the community should seek to focus on where the larger population belongs. The two types of employment are convincingly vital; however, the hype associated with white-collar jobs should be shunned if any significant milestones are to be achieved in settling social issues. A new system of rating jobs should be introduced, a pipe that is skewed towards assigning value to tasks about their limitations and freedom of autonomy.

Works Cited

Matthew B. Crawford. The case for working with your hands.

Rose Mike. Blue-collar Brilliance.