I never really though much about working in a blue collar field. Reason being is that my parents pushed going to college on me since I was a little girl. They were advocates of getting a degree, and college education so that way I was able to land a “good” job and make a “good” living. So that is what I did, I went to undergrad and received my Bachelors in Communications, then pursued my MBA in Human Resource Management. I can honestly say it paid off because I do make a good living for myself and have learned transferable skills that I can take within me as I enhance my career. The flip side is the cost it requires to attend college is high, and it continues to go up every year. Most students who want to finish their degree as soon as possible has some form of loan debt. In a perfect would it would be great to have rich parents that can pay for it, but the average working class person does not have that luxury. If you ask someone who works in corporate America I am sure they are carrying some form of debt or paid off some form of debt to obtain the position and income that they have.
Blue Collar jobs are available to those who don’t want to attend college, or minimal schooling. College is not for everyone and you can still make a decent income working for the railroad, construction, electrical, entrepreneurship, and any job that does not require a formal education. You can make a salary almost competitive to the White Collar employer. The flip side is that these jobs are hourly based so if you need time off, your income can fluctuate week to week which can affect your way of living with expenses and family. Also, if you get hurt in these types of jobs, you don’t get your full income because you are being paid by benefits which is just enough to get by. Very minimal job security if you are no in a Union, and a lot of time, the stress is really high working in this field. So although you may not carry much debt if any at all, is it worth it?
The best way to look at it is are you fulfilled, does this career make you whole, and do you feel like you are using your skill set….at the end of the day if its White collar or Blue Collar…are you serving a purpose to your community. Thanks for Reading!
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