{"id":519,"date":"2017-03-31T23:30:11","date_gmt":"2017-04-01T03:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commoncents.blogwyrm.com\/?p=519"},"modified":"2023-05-06T17:02:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T21:02:24","slug":"on-the-dignity-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commoncents.blogwyrm.com\/?p=519","title":{"rendered":"On The Dignity of Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were a lot of ideas running through my head as I pondered what to write about this month.\u00a0 Some of the most reoccurring concepts centered around the ballooning student debt (1.31 trillion last year \u2013 the 18th<\/sup> year in which it rose<\/a>), the sluggish participation rate, and the general stagnation of wages and opportunities that seem to be the new normal.\u00a0 Competing with these grimmer ideas were the job creation news (227,000 in January and 235,000 in February<\/a>), which has been better than expected of late, and the success of a stock market that is clearly enthusiastic about the future.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, none of these felt right.\u00a0 After all, March, being the month that straddles winter and spring, should be a time of hope and encouragement and not dry numbers and statistics of either the good or the bad or the ugly variety.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I found someone who was willing to do all the work for this column and to do it with a lot more skill than I can muster.\u00a0 Someone who is both down to earth and charming at the same time.\u00a0 I am speaking about Mike Rowe.<\/p>\n

The former host of Dirty Jobs<\/a><\/em>, Mike Rowe has become something of a spokesman for the importance and dignity of work. \u00a0\u00a0During the eight seasons that Rowe worked on the show, he participated in a wide variety of jobs performed by \u201chard-working men and women who earn an honest living doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on his experiences with these jobs and the celebrity that the show afforded him, Rowe has become something of an advocate for the dignity of work and the importance of a wide range of jobs that society has unfortunately judged as uncool.\u00a0 And the great thing about him is, his sense of humor enables him to talk about serious subjects in a light-hearted fashion.<\/p>\n

The one serious topic that Rowe focuses on is the skills gap that exists in this country.\u00a0 What skills gap, you ask?\u00a0 Well, the one Rowe has identified.\u00a0 And what he has identified is that there are over 5.5 million blue collar jobs, seventy percent of which don\u2019t require a four-year degree, that go unfilled because society deems those jobs as \u2018uncool\u2019 or as some \u2018vocational consolation prize\u2019.<\/p>\n

And why should we believe him?\u00a0 Well\u2026.<\/p>\n

\nhttps:\/\/commoncents.blogwyrm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/I-Have-a-Theory-2.webm<\/a><\/video><\/div>
\nFootage from the Bill Maher Show used in fair use.<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

As Rowe often points out, these jobs not only pay well, generally, but they impart a sense of dignity and satisfaction to the people who hold them. \u00a0The ability to start a new day and accomplish something like hanging new drywall or rewiring a room or fixing a leaky faucet is a powerful thing.<\/p>\n

If this basic joy were simply being passed over by people more interested in higher-paying but less-satisfying jobs (I\u2019m thinking of lawyers here) that would be one thing. But as pointed in many places, including numerous times in this column, the real unemployment rate in this country is far higher than the measure the government presents each month.\u00a0 Many students are graduating from four-year colleges with crushing debt and very little in the way of skills.\u00a0 Rowe puts it succinctly when he says<\/p>\n

https:\/\/commoncents.blogwyrm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Student-Debt-2.webm<\/a><\/video><\/div>
\nFootage from the Bill Maher Show used in fair use<\/em>.<\/center><\/p>\n

So how to fix this skills gap?\u00a0 Rowe also has some suggestions.\u00a0 Primary amongst these is not to search for a job that matches our wish fulfillment but to pursue the opportunities.\u00a0 In a video commencement address he narrated for Prager University, Rowe argues that the best thing a person can do is to follow opportunity not passion; to be open to a variety of opportunities in excellent careers:<\/p>\n