Authors: Joe Lamacchia,Bridget Samburg
Tags: #Business
Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-In-One Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside the Cubicle (5 page)
But just to get you thinking, the blue-collar jobs I am talking about include—but are in no way limited to—plumber, logger, tool-and-die maker, shipbuilder, carpenter, electrician, forklift operator, truck driver, landscaper, mason, miner, fisher, bus driver, fabricator, auto technician, fence installer, septic builder, carpet installer, trucker, tile setter, railroad conductor, construction worker, truck driver, and air conditioner installer. I could go on for a long time, but I’msure you get the picture. A lot of jobs are out there, but how do you figure out which one is right for you? How do you know if you are blue collar or are meant to be blue collar, or if you just want a blue-collar job? I can try to help.
I’m sure you’ve been asked, “So, what do you want to be? ” or “What do you want to do with your life? ” These questions can be frustrating, and they used to drive me crazy, especially when I was a senior in high school. If you don’t know the answer, it’s really okay, and even if you think you know, you may end up changing your mind. Answering the question is even harder for those of you in schools that don’t offer career and technical education (CTE) classes. Thinking about your future work is tough if you’ve never had a chance to try auto mechanics, take a woodworking class, or test your skills at landscaping.
“Don’t be afraid to jump around at first, ” says Joe Ross, a sheetmetal contractor and owner of Ross Air Systems in Pickering, Ontario. “Try to find a trade that you are happy in.” Ross says people who are just starting out in the trades may find that the field they initially started in isn’t the one where they are going to settle. “You may have to change some to find what you want.” Ross was fortunate that he knew what he wanted to do. He followed his father into the sheet metal industry. He had always worked with tools and cars while growing up, and he knew that he wanted to keep working with his hands.
Ross spent six years working through his apprenticeship and then worked in someone else’s business for about seven years before deciding to open his own. He knew the trade well and didn’t want to have a boss. At this point, Ross, who is in his early fifties, spends more of his time working with clients, landing business, and doing customer service. It’s something he really enjoys. But Ross is one of those skilled trades company owners who is always happy to help out an aspiring tradesperson. He says more youth should go knock on doors, show curiosity, and ask for internships or job shadowing opportunities.
He’s right. You can’t just expect to waltz out of high school and start making a high salary.You have to earn it and learn the trade and get to the top with hard work.Ross suggests offering to work for free for two weeks. If you want to be a plumber or electrician or are curious about the sheet metal industry, Ross suggests begging for an unpaid job. Prove yourself and demonstrate that you are hungry to learn. The employer has nothing to lose, and youmay get a greatmini-introduction to a certain trade.
The Role of Unions
Unions are a crucial component of the skilled trade workforce and one of the best ways into the blue-collar industries. There are approximately 15.4million unionmembers in the United States and about 4.5 million in Canada. Joining a union oftenmeans that you will receive, at no cost, industry-specific training, apprenticeships, assistance landing a job, and continuing education.Unions aremost well known for advocating on behalf of their members for higher or more equitable wages and benefits. They become your resource for support with contract negotiations and camaraderie among colleagues. Studies show that union workers earn, on average, 28 percentmore than nonunion workers, and they aremore likely to receive healthcare and pension benefits.
“Most people think of them as a place to get a job, ” says David Bor-rus, about unions. He is the business representative for the Pile Drivers Local 56 in Boston. As Borrus explains it, a large amount of his job is “selling knowledge and skills” to contractors looking to hire workers. These skills come fromthe apprenticeships that Borrus touts as the best aspect of union membership. Membership dues are what pay for the apprenticeship programs, which are in turn free for you. “We have a lot of money, ” says Borrus, who is a welder and commercial diver. “You can really buy state-of-the-art equipment.” The unions are training people to be the cream of the crop, the best possible tradespeople out there. “We put a lot into training our next generation.”
Unions are also in a position to know and hire the best tradespeople in the field, so themost skilled workers are typically the ones training the apprentices. “Apprenticeships are the future, ” says Borrus. For example, Borrus explains that apprentices are usually eased into jobs, with plenty of mentoring and coaching. They are around colleagues who have been in the field for awhile and can offer support. They won’t ever be thrown into a job without the proper training. “It’s not just a school, ” says Bor-rus. “There is a whole system of formal and informal mentoring going on.” While trade schools are not necessarily bad places to get an education, they won’t provide the mentoring or coaching available through unions. Borrus adds that once you graduate from one of these schools, you are typically on your own when it comes to finding a job.
For years, the unions had a reputation for being an old-boy network and one that was nearly impossible to get into if you didn’t know someone who was already a member. “That father-son local has gone by the wayside, ” says Borrus. “The vast majority of our apprentices don’t have a family member in the trades.” Marco Frausto, the president and business agent of Ironworkers Local #416 in Los Angeles, agrees. He says the old-school attitudes have largely changed. “Now, it’s more open, ” he says. You don’t have to have connections on the inside. But you do need to be professional, demonstrate that you want to work hard, and make a good impression. Plus, the tests required to get into the unions prevent unqualified kids who have connections fromgaining automatic membership.
Frausto explains that you don’t need experience to apply with a union. Rather, the union is where you get the experience and training you need. “We teach you to be an ironworker, ” he says of his union. “We can make anybody an ironworker.” When asked what skills someone should have before applying, he says that’s not themost important factor. As with most unions, you mainly need to be willing to work hard and demonstrate an interest in the work. Borrus admits there are some applicants he tends to weed out. “We’re not crazy about cowboy types, ” he explains.
Frausto, who is thirty-three and joined Local #416 more than thirteen years ago, points out that unions are integral to preserving sustainable wages. “We protect the middle class, ” he says. “We can’t build a rich nation on the backs of poor people.” That’s where the union steps in. He points out that nonunion workers have to bargain their wages from job to job, whereas there are preset pay scales within unions. “It’s a way to protect the worker, ” he explains, adding that other union benefits include health care and pensions. He also points out that unions are to thank for having created the familiar 9:00 to 5:00, eight-hour workday, whichmeans employees can’t be expected to work endless hours. “I love the trade. I love the fellowship. I love the work, ” says Frausto. “We’ve built America from coast to coast.”
There are currently forty-four thousand electrical apprentices in the United States that are learning through a combined program of onthe-job training and classroom work. The industry expects this number to increase to close to 50, 000 in the next several years, saidMichael Callanan, the executive director of the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC). The NJATC is a joint program run by the Internal Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Callanan says participants work eight thousand hours alongside a trained craftsperson and spend classroom time learning theoretical approaches to wiring and electrical codes. “I can’t imagine a better scenario.” Once the paid training programs end, apprentices have a built-in job network.
“We’ve suffered under themantra that if you don’t go to college you won’t be successful, ” says Callanan. He says the electrical industry has to work harder to demonstrate the benefits of the trade, from high wages to the specialized skills that it takes to become certified. “We haven’t done a good enough job explaining to parents and guidance counselors what the trades are about, ” he adds. “The skill is something that can never be taken away.” Plus, Callanan says that the combination of workforce shortages and the rising costs of college tuition may lead parents to see the trades as a desirable option for their children. Callanan says that throughout all of the blue-collar sectors, unions offer an unparalleled opportunity to learn, to earn, and to launch a career. “This is an opportunity to have a career, not a job, ” he says.
Success in the Real World
Blacksmithing Became His Passion
RobbMartin knewwhat hewanted to dowith his life as soon as he heard about blacksmithing. As a kid, Martin, who goes by “Thak, ” was always building things, working with his hands, and he enjoyed creating, drawing, and sculpting. So when he learned about blacksmithing, the original metal craft, he was enthralled. He thought blacksmiths just made shoes for horses and was intrigued to see the many different applications of the trade.
The artistic, creative side of blacksmithing is definitelywhat appealed most toMartin, who is now forty.By the age of fourteen, Martin says he knewhewasn’t going to college.He practically begged for a job at a blacksmith shop in Floradale, Ontario, near where he grew up.He started off by merely sweeping the floors, for minimum wage, and started to learn the craft fromthe blacksmithing couple who ran the shop.
Martin also became interested in medieval reenactments and took on a character.His is “Thak, ” and he’s been going by that for years. Most of Martin’s work in his own blacksmithing shop now includes fantasty or medieval-inspired designs. He does a lot of ornamental work for clients who are looking to create unique pieces for their home.
Martin has been struck by howmany people take pride in visiting a local artisan and craftsperson who is creating something that will last hundreds of years. In what Martin calls a “throwaway culture, ” he sees clientswho “want somethingwith quality and personality.” That’s exactly what he delivers.
Although Martin has done well pursuing the creative side of blacksmithing, he said it’s essential for anyone interested in the trade to learn the basics and the fundamentals and go from there. He says it’s a wonderful career option for someone who has both a creative side and a willingness to work hard and pay their dues. “You need a good strong work ethic, ” he adds.
Having grown up on a farm, Martin was used to the hard work, so that was never a problemfor himas he was learning the blacksmithing trade.There aren’t many blacksmithing courses in NorthAmerica—in fact, Martin teaches one of them—but someone willing to do research can find a few in Canada and the United States.
It’s the primal, back-to-basics elements of blacksmithing that most appeal to Martin. That, plus the creativity and the fact that he couldn’t be happier. “With some raw muscle power and some passion, you can create some amazing things.”
The Service Sector
I mentioned earlier that the government stopped classifying jobs as
white collar
and
blue collar
. But the classification
service sector
still largely applies to jobs such as law enforcement, firefighters, chefs, and nurses.Cops and firefighters have historically been considered blue collar, and quite literally police officers typically wear dark-blue-collared shirts as part of their uniform. But over the past decade or so, law enforcement jobs have become extremely sophisticated as security concerns and needs have intensified. Training is rigorous, and college degrees are often required to join a police department. Many police officers continue their education to get a master’s or additional training in criminal justice, terrorism prevention, or other specialties. Firefighters also face rigorous testing processes, and more and more departments are requiring college degrees. The same goes for chefs, many of whomgraduate fromculinary school. Some attend these culinary institutes after earning a four-year college degree.
Frankly, there are a ton of guides and resources available to anyone interested in pursuing a career as a police officer, firefighter, chef, or nurse. Therefore, we aren’t going to tackle these in this book, but I did want to mention them since many people have historically thought of these jobs as blue collar. These are all incredible jobs, but if you want to go into one of these fields you won’t have trouble finding much in the way of guidance, books, and support.
It’s Never Too Late
I’ve met a lot of people who thought they had figured out a career for life in the white-collar world only to discover years into whatever they were doing that they wanted a change. Going from the white-collar world to a blue-collar job is certainly amajor adjustment, but for many of the people we talked to, it’s the best thing they’ve ever done. And really, it’s never too late to start something new.
Robson Tyrermade a seemingly drastic leap when he went frompro-fessor to plumber in 1976.He was fed up with academia, didn’t see a stable professional future, and decided to try his hand at something else.He wasn’t even particularly mechanical. He had graduated from Princeton eleven years earlier where he majored in history. The son of physicians, Tyrer calls hismove a “radical departure” ; he decided to trade in theworld of professorships (hewas teachingMexican history at San Francisco State at the time) for that of plumbing. “I left the academic world without any serious regrets, ” says the sixty-five-year-old ex-academic.