Suits Are Overrated
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.
0