My father worked in the construction industry his entire career. He never owned a tie or a suit. He read blueprints, worked with power tools, and built things. He didn’t have a college degree. And, he made a good living. We certainly weren’t the richest people in the neighborhood but we had a comfortable home, food on the table, etc.
I bring this up because sometimes the trade industries don’t come up enough in career conversations. People don’t have to go to college to get a good job. And, they don’t have to wear a suit to earn a decent living.
Mike Rowe is taking this message to the streets via a new website called Mike Rowe Works (read: MicroWorks). I learned about this site a few weeks ago from my blogging buddy Human Resources Pufnstuf. Mike Rowe Works also has a Twitter account if you want to keep up on the action there.
My takeaway from Mike Rowe Works is that, even though we talk about being a knowledge and information society, there are still tons of jobs that involve skilled labor. These are jobs that can’t be offshored because you can’t send your sewer pipes overseas for maintenance and you can’t have your house built in China and shipped back on a tanker.
These are good jobs that pay good wages. And guess what? There are days we’re completely jealous that they get to work in jeans and enjoy the sunshine (while we’re sitting in fluorescent lighting wearing a suit).
Ultimately, everyone should get to select their vocation. Let’s make sure people know all of their options.
P.S. When you check out the Mike Rowe Works site, take a tip from the Bartender and sit on the home page for a little while. Just watch what happens. I’m not going to tell you why…but it’s kinda funny.
P.S.S. Oh, and be sure to watch Mike explain the origin of this site. I tossed out some comments recently about the human resources profession. IMHO, HR needs to take the Mike Rowe approach – it’s not about redefining our profession, it’s about redefining work.
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HR-Hooligan says
I am lucky enough to work in an office where jeans and other casual attire is the norm. We rarely have clients come to the office so our culture is to be casual. I think people work more efficiently when they are comfortable in their clothing. Every so often, because of visitors, it is requested that we bring up the clothing a few notches but that still doesn’t mean suits. Visitors even admit to being jealous of our dress code. Besides, it’s fun to see employee’s creativity come out in their wardrobes.
Julie says
I grew up watching my dad dress in a suit every day. As a child I thought in order to be successful you had to work downtown and wear business attire. It was my dream to do that and that was how I was going to measure my success. Well, I’m downtown and in business casual everyday. As a grown up I would love to wear jeans!
Growing up in a suit wearing family and where higher education was not an option I often forget that it’s not the only way to make a living a success.
Thanks for the reminder.
Mary Jo Asmus says
I worked my summers in factories – sweaty, hot, glorious hands-on work that I hated. But I’ve always respected the fact that going to college and wearing a suit wasn’t for everyone because of that experience. In Michigan, it looks like those kinds of jobs are becoming fewer and fewer – the push is on to switch to a non-manufacturing economy. Won’t happen. We still all need “stuff”, and thank goodness for the men and women who are willing to make it.
Marsha Keeffer says
After cutting apricots in Santa Clara as a summer job, I was more determined than ever to get through college and avoid jobs that didn’t use my brain. That said, we’ve all seen ‘suits’ that are empty – Mr. Madoff and Wall Street are examples.