If your child came to you and said, “I have no interest in college. I’d like to be a pig farmer,” would your first reaction be, “You need to go to college. You can get a degree in Animal Husbandry or Agricultural Science and then you can be a veterinarian,” or would you say, “Why don’t you see if you can get a summer job working on a farm and see if that’s truly what you want?”
The reason I ask is that I just read a letter from Mike Rowe, of “Dirty Jobs” fame. He wrote it to Mitt Romney, but he brings up a point that is relevant to all of U.S. society. In response to questions about why there is a skilled labor gap, Mr. Rowe writes:
To continue reading click here: Are you biased against “dirty jobs”?
See also Mike’s fantastic TED talk that seems like it was the kickoff to this whole push. It’s a shame he doesn’t get more media attention about his campaign.
His TED talk was fantastic. He really does deserve more attention.
I love him. He’s funny, smart, and HOT.
Yes, I said it. HE IS A SUPER HOTTIE!
Funny and smart are always in my definition of hot! 🙂
“We send (or attempt) to send our children to universities and simultaneously praise them for obtaining degrees in areas that don’t prepare them for a career, complain about them living in our basements and wonder why we cannot find a good plumber.”
Thank you for saying this. I feel exactly the same way. I have a 4 year degree and an okay job that most days I hate. I would rather be working with my hands. I have been considering becoming a car mechanic because I am interested in that. After doing work for most of my teen and adult life that involves sitting on my butt in front of a computer, just because my parents told me that’s what I should do, these “dirty jobs” sound awesome. And stable! Who doesn’t need a good plumber or mechanic? I was told to get my degree because then I would always have work. Oh, the ridiculousness of that statement…
Go for it! And don’t let anybody try to talk you out of it…
Not to mention plumbing, roofing, and auto repair jobs cannot be exported to China. If I had kids, I’d say to learn a trade and how to run a business and you’ll be way better off than us English majors.
Yes! Exactly.
And an English degree is exactly what I have. I’m very grateful for what I learned and I had some awesome teachers – I’m a better person for those experiences – but I could have easily had those same experiences for a lot less debt.
I should have mentioned the college debt crisis. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.
Especially in today’s world where you can listen to free lectures from MIT professors or from anywhere with TED.
Times have changed! I think the reason college provided for a secure career path in the past was that such a small percentage of people attended. As the number has gone up, the security has gone down.
I left white collar desk work two years and have been so happy with my decision.
Thanks for this post, EHRL.
You mean a desk job isn’t a guarantee of happiness???? I’m shocked, shocked, I tell you! :>)
We have to face the fact that many aren’t going to go to college, for different reasons, finances, grades, general desire.. We have to push *all* of our children forward, not just the ones making As. Those C students can learn a trade and laugh all the way to the bank, good for Mike Rowe.
The thing is, they don’t have to be C students. One of the problems the skilled trades are having is finding workers who can do the math.
It’s not a place for dumb people. It’s a place for smart people who can do physical work.
Yes! This idea that the trades are the last resort for the dumb kids is so insulting. I don’t want a dumb plumber or a dumb mechanic. I especially don’t want one who can’t do math.
Have you read the book “Shop Class as Soulcraft?” The author has a PhD in philosophy, I think, and runs a motorcycle repair business because that’s what he likes doing.
I think I would tell them they need to go to college, get a degree in animal husbandry with a minor in business. Then let them be a pig farmer. Farming is hard!
Anyone that thinks these types of jobs don’t require intelligence and insight is a fool. Of couse, I came from a family of farmers. I know what kind of work goes into it. Ironically, I find a lot of snobbery from people that couldn’t cut it as farmers.
I’m not for an instant suggesting that farming isn’t hard. Of course it is! Note that the parents in my example wanted the kid to be a vet.
Spot on. I work in recruiting and staffing, and enjoy doing so for welders, stonemasons and HVAC technicians more than I do for accountants and analysts. The work is more interesting, challenging and tangible than anything the executives in my customer organizations achieve. I would love for my kids to grow up to be mechanics or plumbers. Earlier comments about college debt and marketability of a degree are so relevant, too.
Skilled labor isn’t for students who can’t hack academics. It’s hard both physically and mentally.
I imagine it’s far easier to find a job if you’re a qualified electrician than a person with a degree in Women’s Studies.
Close to 40 years ago when I graduated from high school you could come out of my school with enough trade experience to get a start as an apprentice (carpentry, metal shop, electrician, plumbing, profesional cooking/baking, auto-mechanic, and even hair-dressing) or you could go the college prep route which is what I did. Sadly, today, that school only offers students ONE choice – college prep. All the other stuff is gone. (except for some basic home ec. classes and drafting class which is done on a computer)
I think high schools in the US have done a huge disservice to their students by pushing just the one option – college prep.
There were several in my class who struggled with the “book-learning;” but they excelled when the math was applied in a real-life situation such as in drafting class or electrical work. By no means were these guys stupid (and let’s face it – it usually is male students who are being short-changed by this lack of options today) – they were, in fact, quite smart – they just had a different way of learning.
I truly do believe that this failure of US high schools to offer more than one-way-of-knowing is the reason why so many community colleges are now filling up their freshman classes with “remedial” courses.
Let’s hope Mick Rowe and others can get educators and others to truly look at and “fix” our education system!
Yes this! My high school preppped us all for college and not to actually go to work. I’m 30 and I’m still trying to figure put what to do with my liberal arts degree … I also would like to do something more tangible! Too many people my age are in my shoes and it’s kind of a bummer. I don’t even know that many people who actually do things with their hands.
What’s most annoying about this, Suzanne, is that now employers are asking for degrees for administrative jobs that for years didn’t require them. And still don’t! And honestly, as an admin/receptionist with two diplomas, I have never EVER used anything I learned at school on the job. I have English/criminology degrees; I’m about to go back and get communications so I can find something in marketing. With an LD in math, I can’t do many of these anymore anyway; they’re all asking for accounting. The recession has consolidated them to the point where one person is doing the work of two or three. I would love to do a dirty job, but my last desk job–which included shipping heavy boxes–has destroyed my shoulders to the point where I no longer can.
Now I have tons of debt and my job description is being devalued into temp positions, and part-time. There is no way I’ll pay that off before I die. No way in H-E-double hockey sticks.
College is not the magic thing it once was. 🙁
I think I would support my (at this point non-existant children) to follow whatever dream they may have but to do so smartly. You want to be a pig farmer, okay. Since you didn’t come out of the womb knowing how to run a pig farm or a business, you will go to college (AA or BS) and take classes in pig farming and developing a business plan and entrepreneurship. I have several friends attending the local flagship U for vocal performance/composing. Incredibly gifted people. I told them as much as I want you to be the next Mozart or national mezzo, you better have a back up plan. Same goes for sports. Plan for your dreams but also plan for the nightmares. Mostly because (if you are my kid), I’m not paying for your poor choices.
This reminds me of when I was talking to my younger cousin about his career. I asked him what he is doing for school (he’s in his early twenties) and he looked at me with some defiance in his eyes and said “I’m almost done with my apprenticeship to become a plumber”.
He was quite surprised when i congratulated him and asked more questions about what he would be doing, how long he had been apprenticing…etc.
Apparently, he was used to people asking questions on why he didn’t go to college. They even assumed that he had not done well in high school and was just trying to take what he could get.
He felt the need to explain that it was something that he wanted to do and he enjoyed it. Plus, when his apprenticeship is done he will be making a salary that would be envied by some people who have “real jobs”.
Some people use education as a way to look down their noses at others that do manual work. But, as I pointed out to my cousin…. There will always be a need for people in the skilled labor field. He will be able to find work in hard times, unlike people with college educations. He can use the paper that their diploma is written on to wipe his rear.
I come from working stock (farmers, mechanics, etc.), and I greatly value them. My dad is one of the smartest people I know (especially in math), and I think the real-world, hands-on involvement in mechanics was perfect for him. He isn’t happy if he isn’t working with his hands and he is great with people. Could he have been an accountant? Probably, but he didn’t need to in order to be happy AND it wasn’t the constant expectation back then. I was the first in my family to go to college, but I still have a healthy interest in and respect for those technical jobs. I like that I know stuff about cars that most people in my professional situation don’t (and they are proud of their ignorance!) I can say that I’ve torn apart and completely rebuilt an engine, and I understand how and why it works. I have often said that, contrary to popular American belief, college is not and SHOULD NOT be for everyone. I don’t know where this attitude came from, but it is really hurting those who are super smart and choose to work more with their hands along with their brains. (I once heard someone voice the opinion that college should be mandatory now, just like high school pretty much is, and that the government should also provide that free. Look at our public schools now…sheesh, we don’t need that to happen to all public colleges as well! Let’s let people choose their own paths, okay?)
Mandatory college? Sheesh. My fear in that scenario is that once undergrad is mandatory, employers will only hire people with MAs. Then everyone is required to get an MA. Then a PhD. It just escalates. All the while our toilets and fridges and ACs are broken and we can’t go anywhere because our cars don’t work. Except for you…I’m jealous of that skill.