I'm an IBEW electrician. A good electrician (or plumber, carpenter, pipefitter, etc...) Isn't cheap. A cheap electrician isn't good. No loan debt, always in very high demand, and 6 figure income with a 40 to 50 hour week. Pension, health benefits. I'm doing better than many college graduates.
I just got accepted to an apprenticeship with a local IBEW and am quitting my desk job of 10 yrs…super excited but also nervous about being seen as old and slow (33) even though I don’t feel it haha
@@csmash342 I had zero experience or exposure to the trade world going in and assumed everyone got in after high school like people do for college…I’m one week in and found I’m actually right in the middle which put my mind at ease…loving it so far and can’t ever go back to a desk
I almost dropped out this twice year because I’m paying 7.5k a semester at mu university when the guys at the local utility can make +$200k a year. Only reason I don’t go through with it is because I don’t think that lifestyle is sustainable in the long run.
I just paid my electrician $8000 for 1 day of work. He had 2 helpers and got the job done in 1 day. I paid my gas fitter $2500 for 3 hours of work. Just himself and a van. They deserve every penny.
That what I was thinking when the person phrased it as subservient... go ahead and call a plumber out at 1am on a weekend for a busted water pipe and you soon realize that they are not subserviant. I also dont get that the person equates blue collar with someone who obeys orders without question. That person has never even met a blue collar person from the sound of it.
Im an hvac tech and I feel for the people who are angry about their blue collar life and feel less important than their white collar brethren. I will say though that this choice ive made has made me unbelievably self reflective and help me work out issues of faith and worth value and identity my life isn't perfect but I thank God that my work has provided me with the resources to live well and the opportunity to talk to and influence (in small ways) the people I come into contact with throughout the day.
Dunno whether it's new, or has always been there, but if there ever was a blue collar 'chip-on-the-shoulder', these days it seems to have coalesced into some kinda identity as a perpetually aggrieved 'Victim'. And of course Victimhood is never accountable and always 'entitled'.
I can understand that opinion you have. Yeah. If you know other things about life, like if you have an awakened mind, you can see, some find their big scores and get to it in the business, other times you can be a regular joe. If you stay with regular joe, you gotta see our lifestyle work whatever as meaningful and somewhat forgotten or just regular joe sixpack.
I'm a carpenter. I think the trades have a tradition wrapped up around it. It's got honor. I also think office work...is the hardest job ever...me personally. To sit down, not move, and stare at screens and figure out programs or take information and change it into other information....to me....is my personal hell. Sit all day, be inside, partake in sanitized but necessary office talk. Plus I hate suits. In many ways office work is stressful mentally and if you are energetic...but have to sit. It makes your body feel horrible.
Well said. As a plumber this is so relatable to me. You've made some great points but another added bonus for the trades is being able to see the concrete results of your work at the end of the day. Such a great feeling.
As a office worker, I totally agree with you and for that reason only I hate those jobs and there's no freedom in that jobs. You can't leave when you want to and you can't take leave when you wanted to.
@neal cassady I am not talking about slave blue collar workers who work their ass off for some corporate giants. I am talking about freelance/Individual blue collar workers.
I just started work as a tower climber some weeks ago. My hands hurt and so do my feet. I finally feel I've found a job that understands me. Thinking is required if you're going to be safe to yourself and those around you and do a good job, but twisting wrenches and climbing a 250 ft ladder is so straightforward. I love it when things are simple. All it takes to be valued is to be at work on time and be a hard/smart worker. And I still have enough time for BJJ, working out, and any other hobbies I enjoy. I may be no Jordan Peterson, but in my free time I can improve myself for the sake of being a better me.
🗣️WELP!!! 🤷🏽♀️ Microsoft & CHAT-Gpt are coming for everyone’s necks!!! 😒This could mean everyone suffers 😢as unchained slaves to the machine 😱or…… Everyone gets to finally live 🥳instead of working ourselves to death ☠️to stay alive!!!
@@sandycheeks1580 chat-gpt is going to get rid of creative, tech, and writing jobs more so than trade jobs, the only ones who won’t lose there jobs in those fields are the ones who are at the very top, it’s easy for ai to do writing, and creation, and simple mundane tasks, but I don’t see anytime in the near future a robot being able to drive to a house by itself talk to a customer, replace a water heater, test all the lines and pressure, there’s to many complications in the trades that robots just aren’t ready to be able to do as compared to other fields
Listen: human beings weren't created to sit around and push paper, the human body becomes its finest when exposed to physical exertion. Thats why gyms exist, so those that don't have physical jobs still get that exertion. Why not have a job that brings out the best within yourself physically? Also: who says blue collar boys are so sub-servient? Most white-collar people are a slave to their company. So you have to pick a struggle.
That’s true theirs very few amount of people who actually don’t have subservient jobs. But I’m a 20 year old working a blue collar job at ups right now. It’s good money you get a pention at this rate I’ll retire by...... 55-60. Wtf. I have to spend my whole life delivering packages man. Seems depressing idrk. I wish I was a super smart kid who tried in school and made 6 figures. But nah I gotta break my back to retire at the end of my life. This is a fatalist outlook I know and I don’t know when I developed this outlook. Or why I did.
@@detpistons4l401 Idk bro you might actually be in a pretty good spot. There are so many people that retire early, and non of them did it by working a job and saving in a bank account. Be smart with your money, live within your means and invest wisely and maybe even create a company if you feel that may be your thing. The only limit is your mind bro. You're 20, way too young to have a fatalist mindset. Go get your bag man. I believe in you.
@@thegreatboibruh5169 plenty of people have retired early by working a job. Though you are right about not "saving in a bank account." They've invested their income wisely in assets (ie. real estate, stocks, etc).
Hence why a big portion of people in the U.S. are on medication. They don't do any physical activity and need meds just to get through the day and sleep.
I manage my father's farm. What I can tell you from experience is that being outside and on your own most of the time brings about so much peace that most can never understand.
I went through school in the gifted programs but had no motivation to perform well in an academic setting. Welding is what I settled on and I have no regrets. The key is being a high level tradesmen, you will hate a career as a one trick pony no matter what field you choose. My math, material science, and metallurgy knowledge is becoming vast. My problem solving skills I would put up against almost anyone. If you are truly hungry for success and yearn to be self employed trades are the best option.
Exactly this. Went through grade school as gifted and talented. Hated the monotony of it and wanted to be a pilot. That’s expensive. And now I’m 3 months away from graduating as an aircraft technician after 2 years of intense and damn near daily schooling. And it’s fun and rewarding and an honorable vocation to everyday society.
Don’t get a career in a trade...work in the trade to own the business. Owning the business or your own business should be what every tradesman strives towards.
@neal cassady you commented on another comment and talked about getting hurt. Can’t live your life being scared of what could happen. Gotta do what you like and are good at and do your best you can. Keep your mental focus, stay alert, and keep faith in God and you will be alright. P.S. don’t drive on the road anymore because you could get in a wreck and die. (See what I’m sayin)
@neal cassady it’s rewarding using tools and getting things done that other people can’t. Doing work is rewarding. Especially physical work mixed with mental work. Like I&E. (Instrumentation/electrical). It’s the best of both worlds. Desk jobs are the same thing every day. The majority of I&E jobs entails doing something different every day
Anecdotally speaking, I know far more multimillionaires who started in trades than who did white collar jobs. When you're smart and do vocational work, you can really make a ton of money, be doing something fun and not taking orders
That’s because you work in trades so you know more people that work in trades. Tech startups and finance create more millionaires than any other industries, both white collar.
Median income for plumbers and electricians is about 60k. You will be able to make a decent living, but you won’t be rich unless you have your own company or work a lot of overtime. Trades and manual labor jobs are also very hard on your body, so you will have to sacrifice your physical health if you want to do that type of work. Bottom line is, there is no one size fits all. Some people prefer office jobs, others prefer blue collar. There are downsides to both.
I somewhat forcefully recently moved from IT (two years no luck finding a job there) to welding. I earn now 3/4 of what I was earning back then (add inflation and it will be around half), instead of working 9-5, I work three shifts (5.30-13.30, 13.30-21.30, 21.30-5.30). Back then I had time and energy to do extra projects and excercise after work, now I mainly rest, as I'm constantly tired, my hands and feet are swollen, my back often hurts.. Not that I don't have time for additional projects, but compared, I barely have any. Wouldn't say that trades are so great.. At least in comparison to IT. Of course, there are some good things about the job, but in general I find it way more taxing on my health, energy and time and for substantially less than I was getting previously.
Been doing blue collar work for most of my life. Turning 37 soon, and honestly it hasnt been worth it. Working long hours day in & out have prevented me from holding on to any long term relationship and being able to start a family. Now being in my late 30s, I've had to face facts that it'll never happen unless I want to have children in my 40s or become a step parent to someone else's child. I welcome an early death if it's in my future. I'm only doing these types of jobs now because it's all I'm qualified for, and have to survive somehow without being on the streets. But if there's a God or Goddess out there, please release me from this hell.
That's why I love you Mr. Peterson. I'm a 48 year old semi retired son of a plumber, plumber handyman. Non educated no high-school, self-taught one man show that's bored and won't build during these Brandon prices, looking for a side gig. It's 20ﾟ outside Fahrenheit, 87 inside! windows are open. I ate a venison burger , I got on opening day. With my own fresh eggs, raised in the back. Life is good! Oh i speak two languages, not very good at either. Lol
Not everyone one is built to ride a desk for a living. There are even smart people in the trades too- and there are definitely some dumb ones in the office. People have different strengths & weaknesses. Found this to be true every place I've worked.
Don't worry. Those "educated" individuals are just revealing their own ignorance. Just smile at them real big because they will either smile back and respect you as a contributor to your organization or they will show their disdain.
Blue collar is 'subservient"??? LOL So many white collar jobs are super-subservient - a slave to the company. Most tradesmen can quit one job and have another by tomorrow! Or better still, start their own business. I'm a construction estimator and I really envy electricians/millwrights/mechanics/etc. Working with your hands is the most satisfying thing for income.
Estimating is basically the same as blue collar. You get blamed for everything that goes wrong and will never even get a pat on the but if you do it right.
worked as a data analyst were the job was always undefined. Now I work as a local delivery driver, which is way more straight forward. They definitely both have pros and cons but overall I prefer working as a delivery driver
I know a 61-year-old man who lies about his childhood. He tells everyone that his father was a corporate attorney. Born an only child reared by a nanny in a 12,000 square foot mansion. The reality is that he has 3 siblings. His dad was a union plumber and grew up in a very modest home in a blue collar 1970s neighborhood.
Im an owner operator pest control. I kill bedbugs and cockroaches all day. I make 30k a month personally. Moved that cash to rental properties, index funds, trading stock options and crypto. Nobody knows and i love it.
JP would say this. He's an old dude who's mature and responsible but talks in his lectures alot about the value of being young dumb and going to parties and drinking. He's nuanced. He values many parts of life. This has always been his central strength
I’m a garbage man. I pull 6 figures with lots of overtime, 70-80k with some overtime. Not to mention my job requires and makes me very fit and physically strong
@@eesafredericks2122 yes I don’t know what pushed the white collar boom, do you? The only downside of blue collar work is that after about 45 or 55 years old it can get hard on the body but not really that badly if you just take care of yourself.
@@GarbageGangster If you look at some of the old footage of when they built the Empire State Building most of the guys that were walking that steel and running those jobs were over 40You didn't see a lot of young guys in there
@@theworldbegoinup3289and no time to use that money. I feel like you’re just working your ass off to have money for the last 10 years of your elderly body broken life.
As a CNC Programmer/Machinist there is a world of opportunity in that industry....highly technical and unlimited innovation on the horizon. Between IOT, Machine Learning, AI, Robotics and good people to power it all, you can have an excellent career.
3 years into being a CNC Machinist I learn something everyday and I make myself more valuable to the employer. CNC isn't for the weak let me tell you that. Theres a lack of new good machinists now a days especially here in the Chicagoland area
@@HITTAGAME Definitely hard to find consistent talent that is apt for a changing, rapidly advancing field. Congrats on sticking with it for 3 years. I'm entering my 8th year in the trade.
@Jojo Lopez starting out you can make 50K+ / year gross ... with some experience and a good shop that wants their employees to excel and grow together you could make upward of 100k. There's other skills besides just knowing how to do all the jobs on the floor that get you into this pay grade.
It still pays to be smart whether blue collar or white collar. A smart person can turn $50,000 into $5M in the stock market. As Warren Buffet used to say: “If you don’t put your money to work for you overnight, you will be working for the rest of your life.”
My father Herb grew up on a farm in the great depression, and he hated and was jealous of college people because, as he saw it, they had the clean soft hands and the easy life and they made a lot more money than he did. So he demanded, no college for me, I was going to work for a living like he had to do. I became a factory electrician/mechanic what paid about $20 an hour in the 1990's and I did all right in life, maybe better in some ways than college
Im pivoting out of trades when your comparing your hourly rate to fast food somethings wrong, 3 years ago I made $13 an hour as machinist after a year and fast food was making 15. Unskilled manufacturing workers make more starting out then welding jobs and they cap out the same. Im going into programming Im done with trades. My area just blows, if they were in demand I would stay.
Why do I see everyone bragging about making 100k-200k but the average salary even in Cali is way less for a majority of trades. Assuming they don’t have a business if their own that is. A lot of you seem to not have a business of your own
Exactly. The drive to push every intelligent student towards a degree instead of trades/ other occupations has brought the salaries of some white collar jobs down whereas there are fewer people going into the trades and it's raised the wages.
I made more money as an aerospace machinist than many of my friends who went to college and started white collar careers. I was already a journeyman tool & die maker and running a shift when they graduated and started an entry level career. I went to my buddy’s graduation ceremony on my brand new Harley Electra Glide. At that time I was buying a house, had a a brand new (paid cash) Toyota Supra, was restoring a 1964 Ford Bronco and taking classes at a community college at night. I have since gone on to earn 2 masters degrees (thank you GI Bill, I enlisted later in life) and am now considered a “professional” (whatever that means) and make a little bit more money, but believe I was more content working with my hands and brain.
I work in skilled trades, and I make $400.00 per man hour with a 50% personal gross profit margin during an economic contraction. Now keep in mind that I also live and operate in Denver, Co. I know handymen in my area who make $900.00 per man hour relative to hyper inflation in 2022.
I’ve graduated from university and trades college. One does not make you better than the other. Trades is a better fit for some of you can’t sit still for long.
Grew up. Upper middle class. Decided to become a Diesel mechanic. My wife is a healthcare manager. We do pretty good. We live in the burbs and drive nice cars and own 2 rental homes. I know I am not the norm for Blue collar workers. Most Blue collar live in the poorer side of town. They look sloppy and don’t care what they own. These guys tend to have lots of toys when they make good money later in life. Most people think I am White collar.
9/10 tradesmen are called upon when they are needed. 1/10 are craftsmen and are called upon when they are wanted. The craftsman has a reputation of excellence that precedes him and never needs an introduction. Be the craftsman (in any trade or profession you are in).
I'm a Microsoft/CompTIA certified IT tech, and a former auto mechanic (no ASE, I went straight to owning my shop), and I still don't understand basic plumbing diagnostics. Sure, it's likely a lack of effort, but that is significant effort. I'm a terrible carpenter too, and terrified of high voltage wiring! I also studied law and have been a successful self litigant. Intelligence means nothing, determination and focus are what matters most.
There’s lots of tradesmen who have high IQs and college degrees but for whatever reason prefer blue collar work. I crewed on one freighter where half of the deck gang were college graduates. And one of the engine gang QMEDs was an ex navy helicopter pilot with the rank of lieutenant. Then we had a chief cook who was an ex army officer and also an art teacher.
I have an IQ of 140 and I’m an automotive technician. I don’t want to be a professional thinker. I want to do things and fix things and work with my hands.
Some of the most banal people I've ever met were of higher earning white collar kind. It seems weird that some people get paid so much more for something so superfluous. I see more room for philosophical discourse and critical thinking in the trades than I have with my more limited exposure to urban professionals. Maybe there's a more conservative thread running through the former, but on the other hand there's nothing more conservative than corporatism. IT people I know tend to hold progressive values that aren't reflected in their occupation or lifestyle and are handsomely compensated to promote a technocratic utopian worldview. Humanities people are an exception, the highest intelligence to competency to pay ratios, though I've experience with judgmental therapists and close-minded doctors.
I was a construction Foreman all my life. White collars have no clue how smart we are. All people, in all jobs of the world, spend there life inside structures we built. We are not theoretical thinkers, we are fact based thinkers. Huge difference! I like Jorden but all he does is talk on theory of the mind.
You have got practical skill power which effect many people. 👍 His talk on theory of mind also effect many people too. He influenced thousands of students before. Now he influence millions of minds everyday life. Society needs both. Not only one.
I am a painting contractor and I make more than just about every doctor outside of cosmetics I work when I want to work and I don't work when I don't want to work I Am My Own Boss I take care of business and don't answer to anybody so piss off if you think blue collar is subservient
I really wish the trade I'm working in is that companies would actually pay what we are worth. I Do commercial HVAC and 5 years in and i'm still not making a living wage.
The trades are great when you get paid enough to not be dependent on overtime. Otherwise you’ll be used up and divorced because you’re never home and you’re always exhausted when you are.
I've got college degrees. I've been reading encyclopedias and almanacs for pastime since before I started kindergarten. I found my calling in plumbing after I turned 40. My body hurts, but I've never been happier and more fulfilled by my labor.
I been doing construction work on and off for 28 years now I started doing construction work since I was 14 years old and I am 42 years old now and I still doing construction work for living and I enjoy doing construction work for living because construction work is definitely outher stuff for construction work and is not like office work or kitchen work for living that way I life a blue collar lifestyle also
as an tradesman my self, you can pick the people who think the blue-collar lifestyle is subservient, and good trades people avoid working for them and or charge a lot when working for people like that, and hear in OZ trades people earn more than many Oj's(office urm employees ha ha) and you know what most of us people who do real work are fitter faster and stronger than people who sit down all day long in air con,if there is an car crash we are able to assist the injurerd people than some one who isnt confronted by injuries regula(as yes we do get hurt more but we have to be physically tougher )
Joined trades right after hs and at age 19 I was able to move across the country and work in 5 different states and never paid a dime for housing so my only bills was food and clothes everyone else I graduated with in hs that went to college is deep in debt for a degree that isn't useful or pays the same that my job pays. Sure by age 45 my body might shut down and even now my body hurts but least I'm cooler climbing power line poles than someone that works in an office space
Love college people, they live in the clouds, love when they call about some reno work, and they think they so smart but when i give them that estimate and see their eyes bug out, thing of beauty.
I thought my white collar job paid well, but plumbers & tradesmen are making a killing! So much so I've considered quitting to get into a trade myself, the work is essential, adds obvious value & job satisfaction.
I don’t know why people associate blue collar with stupidity. I am a surveyor which is a blue collar job but I work use calculus all day to measure physical distance across kilometres and miles we make volumetric calculations based on measurements across hills. We preform minor archeology by establishing boarder lines created hundreds of years ago by calculating the distance from a known point then digging and scraping to find the original monument which has long since rotted away. This idea that trades people are unintelligent has been brainwashed into you by being told over and over again that because you are where you are you are better than someone else. The trades are easy to become a novice but difficult to become adept. That is why we don’t consider you a skilled tradesman until at least 5 years in the field and even then there are some people who are better than others.
Yeah! I clawed my way to a generational-first Computer Science degree. As a late-bloomer, in 13 years I was an "old-timer" in the high-tech field. Lacking generational management examples -- or interest -- I grayed-out of the computer science field. I really aspire to innovation now...where I should have been all-along. But yeah, the 'lil "Red Badge of Courage" helps.
The main thing I'd say is work for a company in your trade get good at it and make side money on your days off utilizing the skills. It's all cash money if you don't llc.
There is a stigma that goes with working in the trades and it's not likely to be going anywhere anytime soon. The best that you can do is to not let other people's opinions determine your worth for you. That will be the real test of your intelligence.
Yeah unfortunately unless there's some kind of major shift Blue Collar will always be low class🎉 when you work in the rich neighborhoods you realize really quickly there's no Blue Collar people that live there not even the owners of the companies🎉 and a lot of times they get to work from home on the day that you're there😂 yeah I'm just going to work from home today and figured you were coming by so you know🎉
A common thing tradesmen hear these days during the interview is that the pay and benefits aren't good, but you can work all the overtime you want. That's not good money. Unfortunately, that's how they get young people sucked in, and before they know it, they're stuck.
I'm a top paid HVAC Refrigeration mechanic in South Carolina🎉 every White Collar friend I have and every girlfriend I've had make more than me😂 I saw my current girlfriend's check who works in auditing banking works from home I said are you paid monthly she started laughing😂 my girlfriend before her was a nurse who worked 36 hours a week and made more than me😢 just drive around the rich neighborhoods those are all white collar people working for companies
Carpenter/Foreman for a commercial construction company here. Im doing a lot better than 90% of the college grads i went to hs with. People sleep on trades. Theyre just scared to work hard for their money and knowledge. Physically.
I previously worked blue collar and it’s vastly overrated. There is not enough money in the world to get me to return to skilled trade jobs. The truth is that they are not anymore necessary than some white collar work. In the end, every individual needs to find what is helpful for them, and I don’t mean having a fat paycheck.
Almost everything that you see touch and feel was put there by a blue c man at one time or another not necessarily invented by him but built and put there.
Well you’re a woman. Tbh and no offense. But you most likely never put in the actual work and found it grueling. To us guys, that’s satisfying. At least for me most of the time. Sure the trades aren’t perfect. Hell they do suck sometimes, but being able to understand things others can’t and actually learning how to fix things, is a very fulfilling experience. Most women leave the trades and complain about the workload as if they were the only ones dealing with it. But in reality they were given the same amount of work all of us have gotten, probably even less. That’s because trades at it’s basis is made for men by men. You probably do a desk job now, or call center, doctors office, RN, CNA, etc. That’s because those jobs are made mainly for women and that’s just me being honest.
@@Kal-El207 This is so true, exactly why I'm moving from white collar to blue. It's more natural for a man if your not a top-level IQ person and easiest way to own a meaningful company. Just an opinion
Working with your hands is a respectable career, thankfully the stigma has dissipated over the years but there’s still the odd time you get looked at like trash. This video is what you need to watch if someone downgrades you for being a blue collar worker
I own a home exterior cleaning business in an ocean front retirement area of the East Coast.I don't make any less than $800 a day me and one other guy.Stick that in your pipe and smoke it
The question was insulting. I'm old enough to remember (55) when people started "At the bottom and worked their way up". 40 years of 4 year degrees in Art History,. Womens Studies and Music Apreciation as fostered a stratified cultural zeitgeist. Sorry, kids. But a 4 year Liberal Arts degree with a minor in underwater basketweaving doesn't impress anyone who actually DOES.
I spent my life surrounded by knobhead men who kept telling me to get a trade. I fucking hated it, and I couldn't help but notice that those telling me how great trade careers are never had to do it.
Jobs aren't always enjoyable. I do nursing and it sucks sometimes. It's stressful, the hours suck, it's the second most highly regulated field second to nuclear energy, and there is always new stuff to learn and have to keep up with. Trades aren't going to be fun at times either. They can provide you a good life as much as any other job, as long as you sort yourself out. My father in law works as a boiler maker. He is an artist with metal and travels across country working different sites for weeks at a time. He doesn't like the hours, he works in almost weather, and he travels from home for weeks at a time. The plus side? He can make $70 an hour and he can take weeks off from work to make his own schedule. He might work a month long job and be home a week and a half. Regardless of what job you take, there will be suffering. You just have to find what ways minimize the suffering and make life bearable.
Zachary this is great and all, the problem is that trades are still dependent on physical health and lack of automation. Most people in my life recommending against trades were ones that had destroyed bodies from a lifetime of trade work. Obv. Not all end up that way, but it's a distinct possibility
Christian Schwalbach It's a distinct possibility with any job. In my own career, we are just behind construction in regards to back injuries. That's a matter of self care and sticking up for yourselves. Many trades are Unionized and OSHA is meant to protect workers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with blue collar jobs. In regards to the lack of self automation, that varies on your job.... If you're at the bottom and you're a task rabbit, sure. Though, the goal is to get away from being a task rabbit. Mechanics, carpenters, welders, plumbers, etc all have degrees in self automation. They might be given a task, but how one does it varies greatly. You can even go on to be leader of a crew, then you're managing people.
When the lights go out, we will see who is “subservient”. I don’t mean that as a threat- I mean we will actually, PHYSICALLY see the white collar jobs quickly ignored. Those with no skills except white collar will simply be in the way.
Yeah Mike row been saying that for 20 years the white collar guys in all the big blue collar companies Honeywell the white collar guys always make more🎉
@@jackjack4412 so hes paid blue collar workers to do renovations and hes helped out with the odd bit here and there, i dont mind and i enjoy what he said in this video but thats honestly a really bad point you made lol.
I’d rather be a blue collar construction guy than a white collar bull shlt job with no satisfaction guy. I’ve ran my own business for forty years. I’ve known freedom.
@@BetterThanYesterday69 yeh I have nothing against the skilled trades they are great careers in them but eating right isn't the only way to taking care of yourself plus when someone gets back from a skilled trade job especially if your in the union or commerical you may be ok with working out after work but when u start to get up there in age it gets a lot harder to motivate yourself to exercise after a hard days of work
I'll say this for lack of subservience: Unlike Dr. Peterson, I don't have to answer to any Board of Metallurgical Furnace Operators for what I say outside of work.
As a "tradesman" of over 30yrs, I am subservient to none. The association of low IQ with occupations not requiring a degree from an overpriced university is made at the perceiver's peril.
Lmfao 160 is around what Einstein had I doubt they had that, those quizzes online don’t determine your IQ a real test goes deep with a licensed clinician.
Know how to get more people in the trades? Get rid of all occupational licensing, including driver's licenses. It doesn't improve quality, and ruins people's chances at sucess.
I am a college grad who studied Architecture because I didn’t want to be a “subservient ditch digger.” I now work as a city bus driver, and have never been happier. My annual income is *well* over $100k, love my job, own a house, and live virtually debt free. Being academically intelligent doesn’t make you life-savvy, nor does it make you a better person. All an advanced university degree does for people in most cases, as I have witnessed, is turn them into pompous, debt-saddled, unhappy corporate slaves whose only happiness is looking down on people they consider inferior - people like common bus drivers, such as myself, who earn a high income, invest, save, travel often (because I’m afforded 6 weeks of vacation per year), prioritize interpersonal relationships, and are otherwise contented. I wear a uniform everyday which signifies to some people that I am an uneducated dirt bag plebeian to be pitied because I don’t sit behind a desk all day getting screamed at by clients and bosses because I can’t keep up with an unrealistic work load while making UNDER $70k, have terrible healthcare, almost no retirement to speak of, and maybe 1 week off a year if I’m lucky… Who is looking down on *whom* ? 🤔
But bro it’s really hard to make 100k driving around and u needed lots of hard work to achieve what u did.. many ppl can’t and t busy with other obstacles so they want a “stable” typa a job which is mostly those desk ones ur talking abt
@@user-ev5zg9pl8t I disagree, it’s not hard work to achieve $100k per year doing what I do. It requires working overtime, but not as much as one might think. I work with one of the best-paying transit districts in the country, and it’s not hard to make $100k.
My girlfriends father was a union pipe fitter. He was able to provide for his wife and 4 kids. Send two of them to college and buy his family a mansion and put in an in ground pool and etc.
That person that believes tradesmen "Don't have the mental horsepower" has probably never turned a wrench in their life and if they attempted to do so, they would destroy everything they touch lol.
Wasn’t really a insult people who cater towards there natural skills often excel in there career, just because your have a lower IQ doesn’t mean you can’t “succeed”(I believe 104 is avg ceo IQ) people just hate the truth.
Yup, I'm 43 years old. I have a 7 year old son that I get to see 8 days a month. I didn't leave him, I was forced away. I pay $1100 a month but I'm a dead beat dad. If my sons mom dosent let me see him, I have to pay $900 and wait 7 months to hear a judge tell her, "don't do that'.. she does It twice and he is 18. I didn't leave my sons life. I was kicked out if it. And there is nothing I can do about it
I feel for you brother, that's rough. But you should be proud of yourself for maintaining your sanity and your responsibilities in the face of great tribulation.
You can LET GO & LET the universe bring him back to you. It hurts. It is a pain I know very well. If he is returned to your life, start giving yourself over to parenting him with guidance & love in his adulthood. There may be times where he will demonstrate anger or some other negative emotion towards you. Always keep peace and calm within yourself. Be of help, and not of enabling. Build yourself into a solid example of the man you want your son to experience. Not what she made you out to be or what she thinks you are. Gotta really focus 🧘🏽♀️ 🧘♂️ 🧘🏽 on you for now.
the weird stigma people have towards the trades is weird and reeks of elitism. like just listen to the way that question was worded. how are skilled trades workers any more subservient or less brilliant than your average mid-level white collar worker? if anything, the mid-level white collar worker is in a worse position with less leverage and less job security. people are annoying
When this guy’s talking about stuff like this and not the pandering pundit bullshit he’s been making money on the past couple years, he’s actually great. I’m in engineering, worked trades before that. I’ve known brilliant tradespeople and retarded engineering students. Your career doesn’t define your intelligence, you can be smarter than the job requires.
I got a 1390 on my SAT, I had a 3.95 GPA when I graduated from high school. I went to a 4 year university on an academic scholarship. I lasted one semester and I realized it wasn't for me. I got a job at a local fab shop and learned to weld, read blueprints, figure out dimensions and weights, and make some pretty neat stuff in the process. I'm now an ironworker in a mill and I love doing it. There's nothing that is subservient about working with your hands. Academia has become a business and they make teenagers and individuals that graduated with useless degrees look down on blue collar workers, while they have 120,000 in debt while making $45,000 a year and the tradesman is making $115,000 with no debt.
I'm an IBEW electrician. A good electrician (or plumber, carpenter, pipefitter, etc...) Isn't cheap. A cheap electrician isn't good. No loan debt, always in very high demand, and 6 figure income with a 40 to 50 hour week. Pension, health benefits. I'm doing better than many college graduates.
I just got accepted to an apprenticeship with a local IBEW and am quitting my desk job of 10 yrs…super excited but also nervous about being seen as old and slow (33) even though I don’t feel it haha
@@terencebantilan5227 Stfu kid you're still a baby.
@@terencebantilan5227 you are so much younger than my colleagues
@@csmash342 I had zero experience or exposure to the trade world going in and assumed everyone got in after high school like people do for college…I’m one week in and found I’m actually right in the middle which put my mind at ease…loving it so far and can’t ever go back to a desk
I almost dropped out this twice year because I’m paying 7.5k a semester at mu university when the guys at the local utility can make +$200k a year. Only reason I don’t go through with it is because I don’t think that lifestyle is sustainable in the long run.
I just paid my electrician $8000 for 1 day of work. He had 2 helpers and got the job done in 1 day. I paid my gas fitter $2500 for 3 hours of work. Just himself and a van. They deserve every penny.
I guess the real question is what do YOU do that you can afford 10k worth of work in a short space of time😅😂😅
@@jeromem6894 i would like to know as well
What is your job that makes it so you can spend 8k in a day😂
That what I was thinking when the person phrased it as subservient... go ahead and call a plumber out at 1am on a weekend for a busted water pipe and you soon realize that they are not subserviant. I also dont get that the person equates blue collar with someone who obeys orders without question. That person has never even met a blue collar person from the sound of it.
Hey. I like to work and love thoughs numbers, need a hvac person ?? 😅
Im an hvac tech and I feel for the people who are angry about their blue collar life and feel less important than their white collar brethren. I will say though that this choice ive made has made me unbelievably self reflective and help me work out issues of faith and worth value and identity my life isn't perfect but I thank God that my work has provided me with the resources to live well and the opportunity to talk to and influence (in small ways) the people I come into contact with throughout the day.
Dunno whether it's new, or has always been there, but if there ever was a blue collar 'chip-on-the-shoulder', these days it seems to have coalesced into some kinda identity as a perpetually aggrieved 'Victim'. And of course Victimhood is never accountable and always 'entitled'.
Sounds like you absolutely hate your profession
Cap n' go
I can understand that opinion you have. Yeah. If you know other things about life, like if you have an awakened mind, you can see, some find their big scores and get to it in the business, other times you can be a regular joe. If you stay with regular joe, you gotta see our lifestyle work whatever as meaningful and somewhat forgotten or just regular joe sixpack.
White collar workers in the grand scheme of things truly are useless
I'm a carpenter. I think the trades have a tradition wrapped up around it. It's got honor.
I also think office work...is the hardest job ever...me personally. To sit down, not move, and stare at screens and figure out programs or take information and change it into other information....to me....is my personal hell. Sit all day, be inside, partake in sanitized but necessary office talk. Plus I hate suits.
In many ways office work is stressful mentally and if you are energetic...but have to sit. It makes your body feel horrible.
Well said. As a plumber this is so relatable to me. You've made some great points but another added bonus for the trades is being able to see the concrete results of your work at the end of the day. Such a great feeling.
As a office worker, I totally agree with you and for that reason only I hate those jobs and there's no freedom in that jobs. You can't leave when you want to and you can't take leave when you wanted to.
@neal cassady I am not talking about slave blue collar workers who work their ass off for some corporate giants. I am talking about freelance/Individual blue collar workers.
@neal cassady Hmm, but same applies to white collar jobs. Lots of disease they develop while working and staying away from family.
Sanitized but necessary 😅
I just started work as a tower climber some weeks ago. My hands hurt and so do my feet. I finally feel I've found a job that understands me. Thinking is required if you're going to be safe to yourself and those around you and do a good job, but twisting wrenches and climbing a 250 ft ladder is so straightforward. I love it when things are simple. All it takes to be valued is to be at work on time and be a hard/smart worker.
And I still have enough time for BJJ, working out, and any other hobbies I enjoy. I may be no Jordan Peterson, but in my free time I can improve myself for the sake of being a better me.
🗣️WELP!!! 🤷🏽♀️ Microsoft & CHAT-Gpt are coming for everyone’s necks!!! 😒This could mean everyone suffers 😢as unchained slaves to the machine 😱or…… Everyone gets to finally live 🥳instead of working ourselves to death ☠️to stay alive!!!
@@sandycheeks1580 chat-gpt is going to get rid of creative, tech, and writing jobs more so than trade jobs, the only ones who won’t lose there jobs in those fields are the ones who are at the very top, it’s easy for ai to do writing, and creation, and simple mundane tasks, but I don’t see anytime in the near future a robot being able to drive to a house by itself talk to a customer, replace a water heater, test all the lines and pressure, there’s to many complications in the trades that robots just aren’t ready to be able to do as compared to other fields
If you think tower rigging is simple, get off the tower you are a hazard.
Why would being Peterson be relevant?
Hey man, hope your job and BJJ is going well brother.
Listen: human beings weren't created to sit around and push paper, the human body becomes its finest when exposed to physical exertion. Thats why gyms exist, so those that don't have physical jobs still get that exertion. Why not have a job that brings out the best within yourself physically?
Also: who says blue collar boys are so sub-servient? Most white-collar people are a slave to their company. So you have to pick a struggle.
That’s true theirs very few amount of people who actually don’t have subservient jobs. But I’m a 20 year old working a blue collar job at ups right now. It’s good money you get a pention at this rate I’ll retire by...... 55-60. Wtf. I have to spend my whole life delivering packages man. Seems depressing idrk. I wish I was a super smart kid who tried in school and made 6 figures. But nah I gotta break my back to retire at the end of my life. This is a fatalist outlook I know and I don’t know when I developed this outlook. Or why I did.
@@detpistons4l401 Idk bro you might actually be in a pretty good spot. There are so many people that retire early, and non of them did it by working a job and saving in a bank account. Be smart with your money, live within your means and invest wisely and maybe even create a company if you feel that may be your thing. The only limit is your mind bro. You're 20, way too young to have a fatalist mindset. Go get your bag man. I believe in you.
@@thegreatboibruh5169 plenty of people have retired early by working a job. Though you are right about not "saving in a bank account." They've invested their income wisely in assets (ie. real estate, stocks, etc).
Hence why a big portion of people in the U.S. are on medication. They don't do any physical activity and need meds just to get through the day and sleep.
Rather be a slave in the AC then a slave under the sun.
I manage my father's farm. What I can tell you from experience is that being outside and on your own most of the time brings about so much peace that most can never understand.
I went through school in the gifted programs but had no motivation to perform well in an academic setting. Welding is what I settled on and I have no regrets. The key is being a high level tradesmen, you will hate a career as a one trick pony no matter what field you choose. My math, material science, and metallurgy knowledge is becoming vast. My problem solving skills I would put up against almost anyone. If you are truly hungry for success and yearn to be self employed trades are the best option.
Exactly this. Went through grade school as gifted and talented. Hated the monotony of it and wanted to be a pilot. That’s expensive. And now I’m 3 months away from graduating as an aircraft technician after 2 years of intense and damn near daily schooling. And it’s fun and rewarding and an honorable vocation to everyday society.
Ditto...been a welder since high school, known many friends who went on to college and became intellectual idiots.
Skilled labor isn't cheap, cheap labor isn't skilled. Blue collar and damn proud of every dollar.
Don’t get a career in a trade...work in the trade to own the business. Owning the business or your own business should be what every tradesman strives towards.
trades + a degree is such a killer combo. Idk why we act like you can't do both
@neal cassady you commented on another comment and talked about getting hurt. Can’t live your life being scared of what could happen. Gotta do what you like and are good at and do your best you can. Keep your mental focus, stay alert, and keep faith in God and you will be alright.
P.S. don’t drive on the road anymore because you could get in a wreck and die. (See what I’m sayin)
That’s my exact plan as an I&E guy. Couldn’tve said it better
@neal cassady yeah but some people don’t wanna sit in a cubicle doing calculations all day
@neal cassady it’s rewarding using tools and getting things done that other people can’t. Doing work is rewarding. Especially physical work mixed with mental work. Like I&E. (Instrumentation/electrical). It’s the best of both worlds. Desk jobs are the same thing every day. The majority of I&E jobs entails doing something different every day
Jordan Peterson is always so insightful
Anecdotally speaking, I know far more multimillionaires who started in trades than who did white collar jobs.
When you're smart and do vocational work, you can really make a ton of money, be doing something fun and not taking orders
That’s because you work in trades so you know more people that work in trades. Tech startups and finance create more millionaires than any other industries, both white collar.
Median income for plumbers and electricians is about 60k. You will be able to make a decent living, but you won’t be rich unless you have your own company or work a lot of overtime.
Trades and manual labor jobs are also very hard on your body, so you will have to sacrifice your physical health if you want to do that type of work.
Bottom line is, there is no one size fits all. Some people prefer office jobs, others prefer blue collar. There are downsides to both.
I somewhat forcefully recently moved from IT (two years no luck finding a job there) to welding. I earn now 3/4 of what I was earning back then (add inflation and it will be around half), instead of working 9-5, I work three shifts (5.30-13.30, 13.30-21.30, 21.30-5.30). Back then I had time and energy to do extra projects and excercise after work, now I mainly rest, as I'm constantly tired, my hands and feet are swollen, my back often hurts.. Not that I don't have time for additional projects, but compared, I barely have any.
Wouldn't say that trades are so great.. At least in comparison to IT. Of course, there are some good things about the job, but in general I find it way more taxing on my health, energy and time and for substantially less than I was getting previously.
Been doing blue collar work for most of my life. Turning 37 soon, and honestly it hasnt been worth it. Working long hours day in & out have prevented me from holding on to any long term relationship and being able to start a family. Now being in my late 30s, I've had to face facts that it'll never happen unless I want to have children in my 40s or become a step parent to someone else's child.
I welcome an early death if it's in my future. I'm only doing these types of jobs now because it's all I'm qualified for, and have to survive somehow without being on the streets. But if there's a God or Goddess out there, please release me from this hell.
That's why I love you Mr. Peterson. I'm a 48 year old semi retired son of a plumber, plumber handyman. Non educated no high-school, self-taught one man show that's bored and won't build during these Brandon prices, looking for a side gig. It's 20ﾟ outside Fahrenheit, 87 inside! windows are open. I ate a venison burger , I got on opening day. With my own fresh eggs, raised in the back.
Life is good!
Oh i speak two languages, not very good at either. Lol
Not everyone one is built to ride a desk for a living. There are even smart people in the trades too- and there are definitely some dumb ones in the office. People have different strengths & weaknesses. Found this to be true every place I've worked.
I'm a water worker for the city. But I have noticed how the college educated look down and assume we're not "cultured."
Don't worry. Those "educated" individuals are just revealing their own ignorance. Just smile at them real big because they will either smile back and respect you as a contributor to your organization or they will show their disdain.
Blue collar is 'subservient"??? LOL So many white collar jobs are super-subservient - a slave to the company. Most tradesmen can quit one job and have another by tomorrow! Or better still, start their own business. I'm a construction estimator and I really envy electricians/millwrights/mechanics/etc. Working with your hands is the most satisfying thing for income.
Blue collar has always been subservient, You can also start a business and deeding on the field it can potentially pay far better .
Estimating is basically the same as blue collar.
You get blamed for everything that goes wrong and will never even get a pat on the but if you do it right.
The trades people built society. Those people are valuable wherever they go.
worked as a data analyst were the job was always undefined. Now I work as a local delivery driver, which is way more straight forward. They definitely both have pros and cons but overall I prefer working as a delivery driver
I know a 61-year-old man who lies about his childhood. He tells everyone that his father was a corporate attorney. Born an only child reared by a nanny in a 12,000 square foot mansion. The reality is that he has 3 siblings. His dad was a union plumber and grew up in a very modest home in a blue collar 1970s neighborhood.
Im an owner operator pest control. I kill bedbugs and cockroaches all day. I make 30k a month personally. Moved that cash to rental properties, index funds, trading stock options and crypto. Nobody knows and i love it.
JP would say this. He's an old dude who's mature and responsible but talks in his lectures alot about the value of being young dumb and going to parties and drinking. He's nuanced. He values many parts of life. This has always been his central strength
What's the value of anything of those except youth?
I’m a garbage man. I pull 6 figures with lots of overtime, 70-80k with some overtime. Not to mention my job requires and makes me very fit and physically strong
Some of the richest people Ik are blue collar lmao
@@eesafredericks2122 yes I don’t know what pushed the white collar boom, do you? The only downside of blue collar work is that after about 45 or 55 years old it can get hard on the body but not really that badly if you just take care of yourself.
@@GarbageGangster If you look at some of the old footage of when they built the Empire State Building most of the guys that were walking that steel and running those jobs were over 40You didn't see a lot of young guys in there
it's good money but whats good money if your career is soo phyically demanding
@@theworldbegoinup3289and no time to use that money. I feel like you’re just working your ass off to have money for the last 10 years of your elderly body broken life.
As a CNC Programmer/Machinist there is a world of opportunity in that industry....highly technical and unlimited innovation on the horizon. Between IOT, Machine Learning, AI, Robotics and good people to power it all, you can have an excellent career.
3 years into being a CNC Machinist I learn something everyday and I make myself more valuable to the employer. CNC isn't for the weak let me tell you that. Theres a lack of new good machinists now a days especially here in the Chicagoland area
@@HITTAGAME Definitely hard to find consistent talent that is apt for a changing, rapidly advancing field. Congrats on sticking with it for 3 years. I'm entering my 8th year in the trade.
How the pay cnc machinist
@Jojo Lopez starting out you can make 50K+ / year gross ... with some experience and a good shop that wants their employees to excel and grow together you could make upward of 100k. There's other skills besides just knowing how to do all the jobs on the floor that get you into this pay grade.
Trades or STEM.
💯Everything else is basically useless
I make more money detailing boats and cars than i would have made as a psychologist
@@sictransitgloriamundi7033 and I’m sure you’re fulfilled every day, working with your hands and on your feet keeps you young physically and mentally
@@rainewilliams4872 couldn’t agree more. I wish everyone saw it this way
@@jeffnuts2402 What about business? Like accounting, marketing, HR, and finance?
Man idk, Commercial HVAC service tech have to be damn near engineers for what we do. Some of us even are.
It still pays to be smart whether blue collar or white collar. A smart person can turn $50,000 into $5M in the stock market.
As Warren Buffet used to say: “If you don’t put your money to work for you overnight, you will be working for the rest of your life.”
So can a blue collar guy He just got to pay a pencil pusher like you
My father Herb grew up on a farm in the great depression, and he hated and was jealous of college people because, as he saw it, they had the clean soft hands and the easy life and they made a lot more money than he did. So he demanded, no college for me, I was going to work for a living like he had to do. I became a factory electrician/mechanic what paid about $20 an hour in the 1990's and I did all right in life, maybe better in some ways than college
Im pivoting out of trades when your comparing your hourly rate to fast food somethings wrong, 3 years ago I made $13 an hour as machinist after a year and fast food was making 15. Unskilled manufacturing workers make more starting out then welding jobs and they cap out the same. Im going into programming Im done with trades. My area just blows, if they were in demand I would stay.
Why do I see everyone bragging about making 100k-200k but the average salary even in Cali is way less for a majority of trades. Assuming they don’t have a business if their own that is. A lot of you seem to not have a business of your own
Some plumbers i know are better earners than some lswyers and doctors
Exactly. The drive to push every intelligent student towards a degree instead of trades/ other occupations has brought the salaries of some white collar jobs down whereas there are fewer people going into the trades and it's raised the wages.
Car mechanic...they have to be very smart & they make great money but no one want's their kid to become a car mechanic. No prestige.
“Intellectuals” can’t fix anything but sure can rationalize abstract useless concepts.
some not all.
by the way, blue collar is useful and good.
i am grateful for all the help they give.
@@noongourfain They should push their kid to do that and tell their kid they could be in charge of their own business one day with enough hard work.
White collars couldn’t exist without the blue collars
Like combat and support arms.
I made more money as an aerospace machinist than many of my friends who went to college and started white collar careers. I was already a journeyman tool & die maker and running a shift when they graduated and started an entry level career. I went to my buddy’s graduation ceremony on my brand new Harley Electra Glide. At that time I was buying a house, had a a brand new (paid cash) Toyota Supra, was restoring a 1964 Ford Bronco and taking classes at a community college at night. I have since gone on to earn 2 masters degrees (thank you GI Bill, I enlisted later in life) and am now considered a “professional” (whatever that means) and make a little bit more money, but believe I was more content working with my hands and brain.
As a machinist, what bachelors and masters degrees did you choose to pursue?
My husband is an electrician, and we’re now in a position where he can support me and the kids on one salary. He’s our hero ❤
I work in skilled trades, and I make $400.00 per man hour with a 50% personal gross profit margin during an economic contraction. Now keep in mind that I also live and operate in Denver, Co. I know handymen in my area who make $900.00 per man hour relative to hyper inflation in 2022.
What trade are you?
One of the wisest people alive
I’ve graduated from university and trades college. One does not make you better than the other. Trades is a better fit for some of you can’t sit still for long.
This is the answer I expected him to give.
Grew up. Upper middle class. Decided to become a Diesel mechanic. My wife is a healthcare manager. We do pretty good. We live in the burbs and drive nice cars and own 2 rental homes. I know I am not the norm for Blue collar workers. Most Blue collar live in the poorer side of town. They look sloppy and don’t care what they own. These guys tend to have lots of toys when they make good money later in life. Most people think I am White collar.
9/10 tradesmen are called upon when they are needed. 1/10 are craftsmen and are called upon when they are wanted. The craftsman has a reputation of excellence that precedes him and never needs an introduction. Be the craftsman (in any trade or profession you are in).
I'm a Microsoft/CompTIA certified IT tech, and a former auto mechanic (no ASE, I went straight to owning my shop), and I still don't understand basic plumbing diagnostics. Sure, it's likely a lack of effort, but that is significant effort. I'm a terrible carpenter too, and terrified of high voltage wiring! I also studied law and have been a successful self litigant. Intelligence means nothing, determination and focus are what matters most.
There’s lots of tradesmen who have high IQs and college degrees but for whatever reason prefer blue collar work. I crewed on one freighter where half of the deck gang were college graduates. And one of the engine gang QMEDs was an ex navy helicopter pilot with the rank of lieutenant. Then we had a chief cook who was an ex army officer and also an art teacher.
I have an IQ of 140 and I’m an automotive technician. I don’t want to be a professional thinker. I want to do things and fix things and work with my hands.
Dude what Karen asked that question? Getting into blue collar work because you "don't have any semblance of brilliance"? What a snobby thing to say.
Some of the most banal people I've ever met were of higher earning white collar kind. It seems weird that some people get paid so much more for something so superfluous. I see more room for philosophical discourse and critical thinking in the trades than I have with my more limited exposure to urban professionals. Maybe there's a more conservative thread running through the former, but on the other hand there's nothing more conservative than corporatism. IT people I know tend to hold progressive values that aren't reflected in their occupation or lifestyle and are handsomely compensated to promote a technocratic utopian worldview. Humanities people are an exception, the highest intelligence to competency to pay ratios, though I've experience with judgmental therapists and close-minded doctors.
I agree with you. I do have to say this, I think you used the word “superfluous” wrong lol.
@@Kal-El207 I think he used it as intended.
I was a construction Foreman all my life. White collars have no clue how smart we are. All people, in all jobs of the world, spend there life inside structures we built. We are not theoretical thinkers, we are fact based thinkers. Huge difference! I like Jorden but all he does is talk on theory of the mind.
You have got practical skill power which effect many people. 👍 His talk on theory of mind also effect many people too. He influenced thousands of students before. Now he influence millions of minds everyday life. Society needs both. Not only one.
I am a painting contractor and I make more than just about every doctor outside of cosmetics I work when I want to work and I don't work when I don't want to work I Am My Own Boss I take care of business and don't answer to anybody so piss off if you think blue collar is subservient
I really wish the trade I'm working in is that companies would actually pay what we are worth. I Do commercial HVAC and 5 years in and i'm still not making a living wage.
It's not a good career choice, it may have been in the past. Hard to find means nothing to the executives.
The trades are great when you get paid enough to not be dependent on overtime. Otherwise you’ll be used up and divorced because you’re never home and you’re always exhausted when you are.
I've got college degrees. I've been reading encyclopedias and almanacs for pastime since before I started kindergarten.
I found my calling in plumbing after I turned 40. My body hurts, but I've never been happier and more fulfilled by my labor.
I been doing construction work on and off for 28 years now I started doing construction work since I was 14 years old and I am 42 years old now and I still doing construction work for living and I enjoy doing construction work for living because construction work is definitely outher stuff for construction work and is not like office work or kitchen work for living that way I life a blue collar lifestyle also
as an tradesman my self, you can pick the people who think the blue-collar lifestyle is subservient, and good trades people avoid working for them and or charge a lot when working for people like that, and hear in OZ trades people earn more than many Oj's(office urm employees ha ha) and you know what most of us people who do real work are fitter faster and stronger than people who sit down all day long in air con,if there is an car crash we are able to assist the injurerd people than some one who isnt confronted by injuries regula(as yes we do get hurt more but we have to be physically tougher )
Joined trades right after hs and at age 19 I was able to move across the country and work in 5 different states and never paid a dime for housing so my only bills was food and clothes everyone else I graduated with in hs that went to college is deep in debt for a degree that isn't useful or pays the same that my job pays. Sure by age 45 my body might shut down and even now my body hurts but least I'm cooler climbing power line poles than someone that works in an office space
Love college people, they live in the clouds, love when they call about some reno work, and they think they so smart but when i give them that estimate and see their eyes bug out, thing of beauty.
I thought my white collar job paid well, but plumbers & tradesmen are making a killing! So much so I've considered quitting to get into a trade myself, the work is essential, adds obvious value & job satisfaction.
It's crazy how we compare, working outside with the boys been paid well and laughing most of the day. What's wrong with that? Madness
I don’t know why people associate blue collar with stupidity. I am a surveyor which is a blue collar job but I work use calculus all day to measure physical distance across kilometres and miles we make volumetric calculations based on measurements across hills. We preform minor archeology by establishing boarder lines created hundreds of years ago by calculating the distance from a known point then digging and scraping to find the original monument which has long since rotted away. This idea that trades people are unintelligent has been brainwashed into you by being told over and over again that because you are where you are you are better than someone else. The trades are easy to become a novice but difficult to become adept. That is why we don’t consider you a skilled tradesman until at least 5 years in the field and even then there are some people who are better than others.
Yeah! I clawed my way to a generational-first Computer Science degree. As a late-bloomer, in 13 years I was an "old-timer" in the high-tech field. Lacking generational management examples -- or interest -- I grayed-out of the computer science field. I really aspire to innovation now...where I should have been all-along. But yeah, the 'lil "Red Badge of Courage" helps.
Love the question. What’s a good bricklayer? I know
The main thing I'd say is work for a company in your trade get good at it and make side money on your days off utilizing the skills. It's all cash money if you don't llc.
Ur more likely to have a successful business with a background in the trades then being a pencil pusher with a college degree.
Don't make me laugh.
There is a stigma that goes with working in the trades and it's not likely to be going anywhere anytime soon. The best that you can do is to not let other people's opinions determine your worth for you. That will be the real test of your intelligence.
Yeah unfortunately unless there's some kind of major shift Blue Collar will always be low class🎉 when you work in the rich neighborhoods you realize really quickly there's no Blue Collar people that live there not even the owners of the companies🎉 and a lot of times they get to work from home on the day that you're there😂 yeah I'm just going to work from home today and figured you were coming by so you know🎉
good intentions is all that matters
These guys have jobs that keep them physically fit and pay good money, doesn’t sound bad to me.
A common thing tradesmen hear these days during the interview is that the pay and benefits aren't good, but you can work all the overtime you want. That's not good money. Unfortunately, that's how they get young people sucked in, and before they know it, they're stuck.
The trades have been decimated by a shortage of real Tradesmen. There needs to be a serious sales pitch to get people back into the trades.
I'm a top paid HVAC Refrigeration mechanic in South Carolina🎉 every White Collar friend I have and every girlfriend I've had make more than me😂 I saw my current girlfriend's check who works in auditing banking works from home I said are you paid monthly she started laughing😂 my girlfriend before her was a nurse who worked 36 hours a week and made more than me😢 just drive around the rich neighborhoods those are all white collar people working for companies
Carpenter/Foreman for a commercial construction company here. Im doing a lot better than 90% of the college grads i went to hs with. People sleep on trades. Theyre just scared to work hard for their money and knowledge. Physically.
Is IT better than construction ?
I previously worked blue collar and it’s vastly overrated. There is not enough money in the world to get me to return to skilled trade jobs. The truth is that they are not anymore necessary than some white collar work. In the end, every individual needs to find what is helpful for them, and I don’t mean having a fat paycheck.
Almost everything that you see touch and feel was put there by a blue c man at one time or another not necessarily invented by him but built and put there.
Well you’re a woman. Tbh and no offense. But you most likely never put in the actual work and found it grueling. To us guys, that’s satisfying. At least for me most of the time. Sure the trades aren’t perfect. Hell they do suck sometimes, but being able to understand things others can’t and actually learning how to fix things, is a very fulfilling experience. Most women leave the trades and complain about the workload as if they were the only ones dealing with it. But in reality they were given the same amount of work all of us have gotten, probably even less. That’s because trades at it’s basis is made for men by men. You probably do a desk job now, or call center, doctors office, RN, CNA, etc. That’s because those jobs are made mainly for women and that’s just me being honest.
How long did in work blue collar?
@@Kal-El207 This is so true, exactly why I'm moving from white collar to blue. It's more natural for a man if your not a top-level IQ person and easiest way to own a meaningful company. Just an opinion
You're dreaming pal.
Working with your hands is a respectable career, thankfully the stigma has dissipated over the years but there’s still the odd time you get looked at like trash. This video is what you need to watch if someone downgrades you for being a blue collar worker
I own a home exterior cleaning business in an ocean front retirement area of the East Coast.I don't make any less than $800 a day me and one other guy.Stick that in your pipe and smoke it
I’m in my 60s I have been a self employed carpenter and don’t hardly have an education and I make 6 figures
The question was insulting. I'm old enough to remember (55) when people started "At the bottom and worked their way up".
40 years of 4 year degrees in Art History,. Womens Studies and Music Apreciation as fostered a stratified cultural zeitgeist. Sorry, kids. But a 4 year Liberal Arts degree with a minor in underwater basketweaving doesn't impress anyone who actually DOES.
Great stuff.
I spent my life surrounded by knobhead men who kept telling me to get a trade. I fucking hated it, and I couldn't help but notice that those telling me how great trade careers are never had to do it.
sourcescience where would you fit best then?
Jobs aren't always enjoyable. I do nursing and it sucks sometimes. It's stressful, the hours suck, it's the second most highly regulated field second to nuclear energy, and there is always new stuff to learn and have to keep up with.
Trades aren't going to be fun at times either. They can provide you a good life as much as any other job, as long as you sort yourself out. My father in law works as a boiler maker. He is an artist with metal and travels across country working different sites for weeks at a time. He doesn't like the hours, he works in almost weather, and he travels from home for weeks at a time. The plus side? He can make $70 an hour and he can take weeks off from work to make his own schedule. He might work a month long job and be home a week and a half.
Regardless of what job you take, there will be suffering. You just have to find what ways minimize the suffering and make life bearable.
Zachary this is great and all, the problem is that trades are still dependent on physical health and lack of automation. Most people in my life recommending against trades were ones that had destroyed bodies from a lifetime of trade work. Obv. Not all end up that way, but it's a distinct possibility
Christian Schwalbach It's a distinct possibility with any job. In my own career, we are just behind construction in regards to back injuries. That's a matter of self care and sticking up for yourselves. Many trades are Unionized and OSHA is meant to protect workers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with blue collar jobs.
In regards to the lack of self automation, that varies on your job.... If you're at the bottom and you're a task rabbit, sure. Though, the goal is to get away from being a task rabbit. Mechanics, carpenters, welders, plumbers, etc all have degrees in self automation. They might be given a task, but how one does it varies greatly. You can even go on to be leader of a crew, then you're managing people.
When the lights go out, we will see who is “subservient”. I don’t mean that as a threat- I mean we will actually, PHYSICALLY see the white collar jobs quickly ignored. Those with no skills except white collar will simply be in the way.
Yeah Mike row been saying that for 20 years the white collar guys in all the big blue collar companies Honeywell the white collar guys always make more🎉
I make more money as a manufacturing worker than I ever did working in the office and more satisfied at the end of the day
Words of support for blue collar workers from THE most white collar guy ever.
Not true. You don’t know his biography.
@@andre1987eph In what way is he NOT white collar?
@@aguy559 he had blue collar work in his past.
plus he's done lots of renovations on his personal properties.
@@jackjack4412 so hes paid blue collar workers to do renovations and hes helped out with the odd bit here and there, i dont mind and i enjoy what he said in this video but thats honestly a really bad point you made lol.
I’d rather be a blue collar construction guy than a white collar bull shlt job with no satisfaction guy. I’ve ran my own business for forty years. I’ve known freedom.
I rather be a black collar, blue and white is for suckas
idk man I feel like the trades fuck up your body in the long run
@@theworldbegoinup3289 but many of them don’t regret it, if you take care of yourself you can have a long fulfilling career
@@BetterThanYesterday69 yeh I have nothing against the skilled trades they are great careers in them but eating right isn't the only way to taking care of yourself plus when someone gets back from a skilled trade job especially if your in the union or commerical you may be ok with working out after work but when u start to get up there in age it gets a lot harder to motivate yourself to exercise after a hard days of work
@@elee522 idk man if your working out after sitting on a screen and eating right its srsly better but again everyone is different
You can talk till the sun sets; or get the job done before sunrise. Who are you going to pay?
I am conscientious
I'll say this for lack of subservience: Unlike Dr. Peterson, I don't have to answer to any Board of Metallurgical Furnace Operators for what I say outside of work.
As a "tradesman" of over 30yrs, I am subservient to none. The association of low IQ with occupations not requiring a degree from an overpriced university is made at the perceiver's peril.
I like how he talks about i.q, but I know people with 160 i.q and there not super competent people.
*they’re 😆
Lmfao 160 is around what Einstein had I doubt they had that, those quizzes online don’t determine your IQ a real test goes deep with a licensed clinician.
Know how to get more people in the trades? Get rid of all occupational licensing, including driver's licenses. It doesn't improve quality, and ruins people's chances at sucess.
Not all blue collar work requires much skill or makes much income, but much respect to those who still choose to work hard out there in the elements.
I am a college grad who studied Architecture because I didn’t want to be a “subservient ditch digger.” I now work as a city bus driver, and have never been happier. My annual income is *well* over $100k, love my job, own a house, and live virtually debt free. Being academically intelligent doesn’t make you life-savvy, nor does it make you a better person. All an advanced university degree does for people in most cases, as I have witnessed, is turn them into pompous, debt-saddled, unhappy corporate slaves whose only happiness is looking down on people they consider inferior - people like common bus drivers, such as myself, who earn a high income, invest, save, travel often (because I’m afforded 6 weeks of vacation per year), prioritize interpersonal relationships, and are otherwise contented. I wear a uniform everyday which signifies to some people that I am an uneducated dirt bag plebeian to be pitied because I don’t sit behind a desk all day getting screamed at by clients and bosses because I can’t keep up with an unrealistic work load while making UNDER $70k, have terrible healthcare, almost no retirement to speak of, and maybe 1 week off a year if I’m lucky… Who is looking down on *whom* ? 🤔
But bro it’s really hard to make 100k driving around and u needed lots of hard work to achieve what u did.. many ppl can’t and t busy with other obstacles so they want a “stable” typa a job which is mostly those desk ones ur talking abt
@@user-ev5zg9pl8t I disagree, it’s not hard work to achieve $100k per year doing what I do. It requires working overtime, but not as much as one might think. I work with one of the best-paying transit districts in the country, and it’s not hard to make $100k.
Sounds like a lot of cope,
you must be living in scandinavia!
My girlfriends father was a union pipe fitter. He was able to provide for his wife and 4 kids. Send two of them to college and buy his family a mansion and put in an in ground pool and etc.
Agreed!
That person that believes tradesmen "Don't have the mental horsepower" has probably never turned a wrench in their life and if they attempted to do so, they would destroy everything they touch lol.
I’m a proud software developer 🧑💻💻 I’m a computer nerd
This is an insult disguised as a compliment
Wasn’t really a insult people who cater towards there natural skills often excel in there career, just because your have a lower IQ doesn’t mean you can’t “succeed”(I believe 104 is avg ceo IQ) people just hate the truth.
Yup, I'm 43 years old. I have a 7 year old son that I get to see 8 days a month. I didn't leave him, I was forced away. I pay $1100 a month but I'm a dead beat dad. If my sons mom dosent let me see him, I have to pay $900 and wait 7 months to hear a judge tell her, "don't do that'.. she does It twice and he is 18. I didn't leave my sons life. I was kicked out if it. And there is nothing I can do about it
I feel for you brother, that's rough. But you should be proud of yourself for maintaining your sanity and your responsibilities in the face of great tribulation.
You can LET GO & LET the universe bring him back to you. It hurts. It is a pain I know very well. If he is returned to your life, start giving yourself over to parenting him with guidance & love in his adulthood. There may be times where he will demonstrate anger or some other negative emotion towards you. Always keep peace and calm within yourself. Be of help, and not of enabling. Build yourself into a solid example of the man you want your son to experience. Not what she made you out to be or what she thinks you are. Gotta really focus 🧘🏽♀️ 🧘♂️ 🧘🏽 on you for now.
the weird stigma people have towards the trades is weird and reeks of elitism. like just listen to the way that question was worded. how are skilled trades workers any more subservient or less brilliant than your average mid-level white collar worker? if anything, the mid-level white collar worker is in a worse position with less leverage and less job security. people are annoying
When this guy’s talking about stuff like this and not the pandering pundit bullshit he’s been making money on the past couple years, he’s actually great.
I’m in engineering, worked trades before that. I’ve known brilliant tradespeople and retarded engineering students. Your career doesn’t define your intelligence, you can be smarter than the job requires.
I got a 1390 on my SAT, I had a 3.95 GPA when I graduated from high school. I went to a 4 year university on an academic scholarship. I lasted one semester and I realized it wasn't for me. I got a job at a local fab shop and learned to weld, read blueprints, figure out dimensions and weights, and make some pretty neat stuff in the process. I'm now an ironworker in a mill and I love doing it. There's nothing that is subservient about working with your hands. Academia has become a business and they make teenagers and individuals that graduated with useless degrees look down on blue collar workers, while they have 120,000 in debt while making $45,000 a year and the tradesman is making $115,000 with no debt.
I have an IQ of 114 not bad 🤔 that's what it was when I was a kid.
Education level doesn’t equate to intelligence.
10k a month starting off in electrical. Not bad
Where/ what job title?