When I went to get my car inspected in October, I almost died when the mechanic came out and told me that it failed inspection and would need work to the tune of around $2,000 (which I most decidedly do not have at this juncture in my life).
I did what I always do in those situations--I cried for awhile, then I acted like a despondent jerk for a few minutes, contemplated filing for bankruptcy ... then I asked Andy for help. Andy knows cars. He got the necessary parts (Did you know that cars have boots? They're attached to something called a caliper. I think), did the work himself and didn't charge me for labor, and saved me many hundreds of dollars. I got my car back yesterday, and it's inspected and life is good.
Which brings me to my point. I have an advanced graduate degree. I can analyze literature from poetry to philosophy and everything in between. I educate the minds of high school students. I run the school newspaper and am the sophomore class advisor. I've written a novel and three quarters of a second one. I kicked butt on the Praxis exams (think SATs for teachers).
And it all means nothing, when all is said and done. I mean, I took a couple of courses at a business college when I was pregnant with Addie so I could stay on my parents' health insurance. While there, I learned how to type and could, at one point in my life, type over a hundred words a minute (I've slowed down some in my old age). Typing is probably my only marketable skill, and it's not even like I use it all that much (other than when I'm writing ... or blogging ... okay, I type a lot, but you get what I mean).
Andy, on the other hand, dropped out of high school, got his GED, never graduated from college, and has a manual labor job where he gets paid about what I do. And he can fix cars. He is also one of the smartest people I know, and one of the kindest.
It's funny how, on paper, I look like an educated professional in a white collar field. In reality, there's not a whole lot I can do (other than motherhood--I'm pretty good at that .. and writing. Sometimes). I can't even do the laundry without screwing it up (yeah, I mixed whites and reds and have a bunch of grayish pink ... don't ask).
Do you think the dichotomy between white and blue collar is shrinking? Do people with blue collar jobs tend to have more practical skills? And why, oh why, do some people still look down on car mechanics, hairdressers, sanitation workers, and truck drivers?
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I think you've hit on the problem with higher education - it often doesn't train people to produce anything of real value. Andy provides a service which is of immediate and necessary value to many people, which enables him to make good money without a degree. Skilled trades will always pay well. Nuclear physicists may wind up driving taxis, but tradespeople seldom do.
ReplyDeletePardon me, this is going to be a bit rambly (and may sound a little douchey, for which I apologize). I'm torn between thinking my job is invaluable and useless. I travel to other countries and present my research-my ideas, my handiwork, my analysis, and my conclusions...but sometimes I feel like I don't really do anything of value. I study disease, and am rather successful at it. I've published 7 journal articles and two textbook chapters. But I've never *cured* anything. No sick person or animal has ever gotten better because of me. The closest thing to practicality that I've ever done was teach nursing students, and I wasn't particularly good at that (I was better with grad students, I hear). I don't even teach anymore. I sit in my office and pontificate, then wander down to Dan's office and debate for a while and dream up experiments that we never actually get around to doing, and then I go home. Pretty useless, right? To say my job title sounds pretty impressive, and while I may impact the world on some level (i.e., by leaving behind publications), it isn't spectacularly helpful to anyone. Fixing their car, on the other hand, is.
ReplyDeleteIt's only my opinion, but I think class discrimination is far bigger problem than race or gender discrimination now. Maybe it's just where my husband works, but it seems like a huge problem and it makes me so sad. Anything that makes one person feel less than equal to another person is not good!
ReplyDeleteI actually believe that lack of marketable skills in the US is part of our current problem economically, but that's another can of worms entirely.
Thanks for your thoughtful posts. I always enjoy them.
Oh, and just for the record, teachers are one of the most important jobs out there so thank you for doing that too. It might not be marketable, but it's certainly valuable. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Western world values the mind over the body. As a result, many of us wouldn't survive five minutes outside of an office.
ReplyDeleteIt also depends on what you call marketable. 20 years ago, the ability to program computers was a very marketable skill. Now, with so many people in the developing countries able to do it, it is far less marketable.
The only skills that will never lose their marketability in any nation are those that serve. Car repairs, building, shop work etc.
Here is the interesting part of what you are saying if you read the millionaire next door you can look up the top occupation of wealthy people... teachers.
ReplyDeleteI use some skills that I learned in english in business.... (one of the best was hiring a secretary that has skills that I lack)
Nothing is work if you think its fun - Tom Sawyer.
The secret to success is to make your vocation your vacation - Mark Twain
The seed of 1,000 forrests is in one acorn - Emmerson?
With your skills in English it can work extremely well in having wealty associations and the associations are important in improving any life area... having an association that can fix a car when you are in need.
Kindest regards,
Tom Bailey