I just read an interesting article that discusses why manual labor is coming back. A man earned his PhD and went on to join a think-tank in DC, work which he described as not fitting for any free man. He argues that “blue-collar” manual labor workers, like repair men and electricians, live happier, fuller lives, and often times get paid more, than “white-collar” college graduates, which led him to this observation:

“Why did the culture deem the labour of carpenters and electricians inferior to drafting memos and policy papers?”

During World War II, skilled labor was highly prized. It was no shame for a man to work on an assembly line, and for him to be able to say, “I constructed the engine on that plane” was a point of pride. That generation gave birth to a generation that did not value skilled labor, which is no surprise as children often rebel against their parents. When the idea of the “college degree” became more attainable for the every-man in the ensuing decades, a culture evolved that viewed any job that did not require a degree as inferior.

This mindset is with us to this day. If you don’t get your degree, you are seen as a failure. Now, there is some truth to this—statistically, a man with a college degree will make more money than one without. But if we were to compare the majority of white-collar jobs—pencil pushers, data recorders, Excel gurus, etc.—with the skilled labor jobs that are in high demand, I think we would find that the laborers make more than the pencil pushers.

I highly recommend college, but it isn’t for everyone. The value of a college degree is going down, because now almost anyone can get one. I would recommend college for those who have a clear career in mind, and are setting out to learn specific things to enable them. I would recommend it for people who love academia, love teaching and love writing research papers. I would not recommend it for people who like to be creative, for creativity is often squelched in a college environment. I would not recommend it for people who like to produce things, or for people who like to see tangible results of their work. White-collar jobs often do not provide this.

While reading the afore mentioned article, I sat there nodding my head, because I had been there. I started college not knowing what I wanted to do. I eventually discovered classical history, which still fascinates me today, and so I spent my college days studying dead languages and history. I am glad I did, but this experience has not helped me find a good job. Right out of college, I got a job at Amazon.com, where I was paid $20 an hour to organize DVDs in a spreadsheet, and edit XML for the webpage. It was tedious, boring work. I had no sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I realized that, while I still love history, I should have approached it as something to study in my free time because I loved it, not as something to devote a career to (there are few jobs in history).

Maybe the poor economy will bring us down-to-Earth and we will start to value skilled labor again.

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