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Blue Collar Recession

Tommo

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In high school I did 2 years of diesel mechanics and also had an internship repairing boats and rebuilding the motors. I also took one full year of engineering in high school as well and learned to read mechanical drawings.

After dropping out of college, my dad helped me get a machinist job even though I had zero experience running milling machines and lathes. Within a week, I was trained enough to be comfortable with all of the machines and did what I had to do. The pay was quite good for a 19-year-old. The job sucked due to the heat but couldn't beat seeing a wad of cash at the end of each week.

Now I sit around and run my software company, but still find myself working on my wife's car or building mechanical contraptions as a hobby.

I wish that after 9th or 10th grade they would say hey, are you going the trade route or the college route? If you're going the college route, stay here. If you're going the trade route, you get sent to a training center to be trained on whatever it is you're interested in and stop taking other useless classes.

At my school we had a "career center" where we could learn:

  • Diesel Mechanics (what I took) - me and 3 other students. Talk about a shortage.
  • Automotive Repair
  • Automotive Body work & painting
  • Welding + Pipe Welding
  • Mechatronics
  • Masonry
  • Hair salon
  • A few other things
Each of these classes lasted from 11th grade to 12th grade and you had the chance to be at least partially certified in your trade within 2 years of schooling.

After going through this, I realized that most people just don't want to do hard work. They're scared to death of it or look down on it.

Some of the best times I had in school was working in the shop.
Totally agree. .maybe add NDT to the list, a great ways to fabrication work for non trade folk with brains
 
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Bekit

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Just read this article about the fact that there's 500,000 missing millennial men in the workforce:

Millennial Men Leave Perplexing Hole in Hot U.S. Job Market

Quotes that stood out to me...

"He wants new employment but won’t take a gig he’ll hate."

"All are missing out on a hot labor market and crucial years on the job, ones traditionally filled with the promotions and raises that build the foundation for a career."

"Butcher has a high-school diploma and a resume filled with low-wage jobs from Target and Walmart to a local grocery store. He’s being selective as he searches for new work because he doesn’t want to grind out unhappy hours for unsatisfying compensation. 'I’m very quick to get frustrated when people refuse to pay me what I’m worth,' he said."

"'That was the template for that generation: you were either working and unhappy, or you were a mooch,' he said."

Is this a messaging problem?
Because it sure seems like there's a trend of a lot of whining.
  • I don't want to work a job I'll hate.
  • Working means I'll be unhappy.
  • I'm worth more than just a blue-collar job.
What if the companies who were looking to hire blue collar workers could reverse that trend (at least for their immediate job postings) by rewriting the story that people are telling themselves?
  • I love making good money
  • Working means I'll be able to afford the things I want, and that'll contribute to my long-term happiness and success.
  • Blue-collar jobs are where I'll finally get paid what I'm worth
In other words, tie that blue-collar employment to the person's long-term goals that are fulfilling.

Since there seem to be a lot more men in this forum than women, I'd love to see if you guys think this would be a potential solution for the businesses that are trying to attract blue-collar workers.
 

GreasyGinger

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As a Auto Tech I love reading this post. Being a millennial tradesman I am finding a lot of the things said about my generation kinda funny and naive.

My dad was in tool and die, so he was a tradesman. I grew up in an affluent neighborhood where all of my high school peers were preached the university route. My high school didn't have any technical courses and basically made you feel as if going into the trades was giving up. I never liked the idea of university, mainly the fact of being forced to enroll ( and pay ) for courses I have no interest in just to get the "well rounded" education

I took a couple of years after high school to "find myself", lived in the UK, worked a couple of manual labor jobs, worked behind a bar. I came back home and decided to forge a career path. Gave up on the "dreams" of high education and started an apprenticeship at the General Motors dealer.

In certain provinces in Canada you get to fast track certain trades because of the lack of people going into the trades. So 24 months later and I'm a federally licensed Automotive Technician that can get a job anywhere in North America.

I moved to western Canada where the wages are double and in my first year made 6 figures. I've been out here for about 5 years. Unlike other guys in my trade though I have recently taken am interest in business and entrepreneurship and have really noticed that my job is in super high demand, especially with the 10 years experience I now have.

I switched jobs recently and used it to my advantage. Negotiated a salary 20% over my peers and 4 weeks holiday off the bat. Most guys in the trades though don't know their worth and feel they need to bow down and take whatever employers are willing to give them. Not realizing that these employers NEED their skill set to keep their businesses going.

For everyone complaining about millennials, it's not that we are a lazy bunch, it's that we're not driven by the same things the baby boomer shop owners are used to. We value experiences and would sooner take an extra weeks paid leave then a raise of equal value. We want a job that has a clear path to progressing and learning, we can smell bullshit from a mile away if you make promises of progression but don't show it to us.

Take for example I am working with a new apprentice, if I make him do menial tasks all day, taking out garbage and cleaning the shop, without letting him even get a little knowledge on car, you can bet he's gone. If I take say an hour a day to teach him and show him something new, he will work his a$$ of doing the menial shit because he can see there will be progression with me. Old school shop owners see this as time wasting and want to make sure that "when you're on the clock, you're working for me."

If there's any listeners of the MFCEO project, he is a huge advocate for hiring millenials and hits the nail on the head with how to get the best work out of them.
 

garyfritz

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As a Auto Tech I love reading this post.
One disadvantage of some blue-collar jobs: they can be hard on your body.

My younger brother was an auto tech. By the time he hit 40, he was really feeling the effects of lots of bending, lifting, noxious chemicals, etc. Apparently that's very common. He was able to make a career shift, moving from auto dealers to the maintenance dept for a small city, which he said was a major improvement in working environment. And since he was smart and hard-working he got promoted and now he manages the dept. The paperwork & politics drive him a bit crazy, but his body is happier and his paycheck is fatter. So you may want to think about how you could diversify or shift your career away from being "just" a wrench turner.
 
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GreasyGinger

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One disadvantage of some blue-collar jobs: they can be hard on your body.

My younger brother was an auto tech. By the time he hit 40, he was really feeling the effects of lots of bending, lifting, noxious chemicals, etc. Apparently that's very common. He was able to make a career shift, moving from auto dealers to the maintenance dept for a small city, which he said was a major improvement in working environment. And since he was smart and hard-working he got promoted and now he manages the dept. The paperwork & politics drive him a bit crazy, but his body is happier and his paycheck is fatter. So you may want to think about how you could diversify or shift your career away from being "just" a wrench turner.

This is very true, but there are more roles that don't involve just wrenching and swinging hammers. Usually the more technical the work is, the less labour intensive it is and higher paying. I've specialized in engine and body electronics for the last 5 years and have become really good at a side of the trade a lot of guys won't take on. My current position is a foreman role where I over see a team and work more on improving the efficiency and productivity of the shop.
I take on the technical jobs that come in, which use more of your brains than your body. I haven't taken wheels off a car, or even lifted one, in a good couple of weeks now. In other words I spend my time reading wiring diagrams and replacing small electronic parts.
 

andviv

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He’s being selective as he searches for new work because he doesn’t want to grind out unhappy hours for unsatisfying compensation
As "entitled" this may sound, I am glad this generation is seeing that way...

Thousands of posts here talk about how men here are "sick of their jobs" and want out.

I live and work in Washington DC, city full of dissatisfied lawyers.

Maybe wanting to work for/in something fulfilling is not such a bad thing after all...
 

Legend

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I think a lot of you are forgetting the view from the slow lane.

I am a millennial (34 yo) and a professed slowlaner. I come from a blue collar family so I've never looked down on any profession. I went to college for engineering - I wanted to work with my hands, specifically robotics. I searched and searched for a white collar job when I graduated and I only got one response. I became a drafter, and now I am in sales. Still sitting behind a desk. I make 60k a year salary so I have flexibility with my hours, live in one of the cheapest cities in the US, 401K match, 3 weeks vacation, every weekend off, and of course holidays. I understand this is all slowlaner talk, but this is what a slowlaner lives for.

But what you're trying to sell me is physically hard work, for 20k less, fewer days off, and probably no insurance or retirement plan? I've never looked at an auto tech job post so I don't know the benefits, but if I was offered $40 to dig a 6ft deep hole or $60 to draw a 6ft deep hole - I know which one I would've taken.
 
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Scott0268

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I own a steel fabrication shop and have been looking for more help for months now. Had a guy respond to my ad ,come in and interview on a Thursday and suppose to start on the following Monday. NO SHOW. Hired another guy and after 2 days had to let him go, he couldn't read a tape measure. This is such a huge problem in this country.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Spain has a terrible mentality of entrepreneur vilification. I visited and everybody complaint about no jobs but wanted benefits that no real business can afford.

Imagine the lunacy of hating mothers but loving babies. Asking the masses to use logic is now asking too much...
 

ZF Lee

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I think a lot of you are forgetting the view from the slow lane.

I am a millennial (34 yo) and a professed slowlaner. I come from a blue collar family so I've never looked down on any profession. I went to college for engineering - I wanted to work with my hands, specifically robotics. I searched and searched for a white collar job when I graduated and I only got one response. I became a drafter, and now I am in sales. Still sitting behind a desk. I make 60k a year salary so I have flexibility with my hours, live in one of the cheapest cities in the US, 401K match, 3 weeks vacation, every weekend off, and of course holidays. I understand this is all slowlaner talk, but this is what a slowlaner lives for.

But what you're trying to sell me is physically hard work, for 20k less, fewer days off, and probably no insurance or retirement plan? I've never looked at an auto tech job post so I don't know the benefits, but if I was offered $40 to dig a 6ft deep hole or $60 to draw a 6ft deep hole - I know which one I would've taken.
Good one on the physical condition issue.

I have some allergy issues, so work with a lot of dust can be quite taxing for me. Otherwise, I would have popped into chemical industries or transportation.

I think it boils down to where we are presently. Not all of us here start our Fastlane straight from college. Some of us start from a blue collar background. Some from white. Once we are more aware of our closest options, or the lower hanging fruit, then we can make better decisions on how to progress.

I own a steel fabrication shop and have been looking for more help for months now. Had a guy respond to my ad ,come in and interview on a Thursday and suppose to start on the following Monday. NO SHOW. Hired another guy and after 2 days had to let him go, he couldn't read a tape measure. This is such a huge problem in this country.
Well, no contract with penalties was formed. Invitation only. Of course they didn't have a binding obligation to show up....sigh. Gotta hate biz law sometimes.

I suppose this is why many countries have taken to bringing in foreign workers, which have led to further problems as well. I don't mind foreign workers, but hearing them speak in Cantonese or Mandarin as waiters in coffee shops here at home, based on chug-and-plug rote memory without understanding the localisation behind it is cringey.

I'm worrying whether I might find this issue later on when I need salesmen. I had an idea to rope in more sales folks to increase my chances of leads for freelancing, but the rub is to properly train them, induct standardised procedures for email and follow-ups, or incorporate their skillset, if they were already in the field beforehand.

Imagine the lunacy of hating mothers but loving babies. Asking the masses to use logic is now asking too much...
When looking for some materials on Reddit, I made the great blunder of falling into cesspool threads.

I used to admire Western countries like Spain, France and the UK for establishing efficient colonial systems to bring back profits to their own countries and pioneer many finance and economic concepts (the slavery and exploitation aside). Now, I'm horrified to see how deteriorated their peoples' mindset in general have become. We see it everywhere, on Reddit, emails, even in conversations offline and online. Whatever happened to building legacy and exploring knowledge?

I also made the mistake of falling upon some UK debates in their House of Commons. Thought I would find learned debate, but it was a madhouse. Very sad to think that a few decades ago, the UK was ruling my country. They weren't the most benevolent colonial forces, but they left my country with roads, railways, ports and plantations, that are still in use today. Now most masses complain about some bullshit such as environmental issues and human labour when it comes to building all these good things.

Spain has a terrible mentality of entrepreneur vilification. I visited and everybody complaint about no jobs but wanted benefits that no real business can afford.
Somehow this reminds me about the Japanese economic revival post-world war 2.

My interest in this line of history was sparked after watching some Sino-Japanese war documentaries (don't ask me how I jumped from there to the economic revival...it was 3 am lol. You do funny stuff at 3 am.)

The whole country was torn to bits by war, heavy dismantling of war industries and not to forget a heavy loss of the male population due to military losses. Yet, somehow, the government put some policies that were cooperative with entrepreneurs, roped everyone in, and they made it.

The current Prime Minister of my country, Tun Dr Mahathir, liked this so much that he tried to induct some of the principles behind this shift into the country in an earlier term. Didn't work out. We just were still too 'noob' to get to the hard work. We had gone through some wars, slight economic conflicts, but nothing as bad as having two atomic bombs dropped into your backyard.

A director pretty much summed up the state of my country's general atmosphere and mindset frame, during a public talk I went to recently, 'We (Malaysians) don't really know, or comprehend, what a bear market truly is.'

So I guess this entrepreneural vilification will continue until the ground collapses below the feet of the masses, with no support under it.
 
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ItsAJackal

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No welders, no fabricators, no machinists, precious few engineers, draftmen, detailers.
AND
everything in this country has to be replaced in the next 25 years. Not just roads and bridges..... the plant that makes bread / window cleaner / toilet paper tubes. All that piping, all those tanks, all those machines. Are all in terrible condition.

I go talk to middle schools. Talk to them about college isn't for everyone and if they are good with their hands they can make really good money. I take scout groups to the local machine shops. Them and their parents get to see machining centers, lasers cutting steel. The kids are amazed and their parents didn't even know this place existing 5 miles from their houses.

We are fighting the advertising dollars of college football and an entire generation that put a stigma on blue collar. Just have to expose kids to the opportunity and let them decide for themselves!!

Need money for a side hustle, go down to the local fab shop and pass a drug test. You can work all the hours you want!

Could be a good INE ...... a long play on getting welding and fabricating talent / staffing for local shops. You start on the groups in 8th grade and have weekend fab-a-thons at local shops while also partnering with the local trade school. Buy the local middle school a 3d printer in return for talking to their kids and their families. The kids that are not making A's or would later consider the military are your first pass. The long play is teaching the local region that being a welder is cool and you can make bank.

This really rings true for me. I'm in the HVAC industry and we are desperate for people. I've even heard of other companies that allow their potential hires to "study" for 30 days before they have their drug test. And they still fail....

One question, do you have a business working with this problem? Or is this a hobby/passion? Sounds like you are spending a lot of time teaching the benefits of a blue collar option.
 

Bearcorp

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One disadvantage of some blue-collar jobs: they can be hard on your body.

My younger brother was an auto tech. By the time he hit 40, he was really feeling the effects of lots of bending, lifting, noxious chemicals, etc. Apparently that's very common. He was able to make a career shift, moving from auto dealers to the maintenance dept for a small city, which he said was a major improvement in working environment. And since he was smart and hard-working he got promoted and now he manages the dept. The paperwork & politics drive him a bit crazy, but his body is happier and his paycheck is fatter. So you may want to think about how you could diversify or shift your career away from being "just" a wrench turner.

This is why my Dad advised me not to follow in his footsteps and be a plumber, too hard on the body. It's not as bad these days, when he started all digging was done by hand for instance compared to using excavators, but it's still a physical job.

In fact as a kid he said to me "don't be a plumber, learn computers, its the future"

Only took me 14 years of being a plumber before I started an ecommerce business and finally got out of the industry, Dad was right again :smuggy::rofl:

When I worked in London I couldn't believe the lack of English lads working on site, all foreign guys, and the pay was quite good. Plumbers in London on the tools were taking home twice as much as guys at home, but according to the older generation still on site kids didn't want to get their hands dirty anymore. Would rather go to uni and get into politics or be a banker or something.
As part of Prince Charles initiative to get kids into trades "Princes Trust" I had to mollycoddle a 20 year old for about 4 weeks, he was hopeless. Wouldn't of lasted 1 day on site in Australia. My company would of got a kick back to employ him but I ended up sacking him before that happened. The kid didn't have enough get up and go to dress himself in the morning, let alone actually build anything.
 

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