The romanticization of the blue-collar job

So, I guess we all invariably end up wishing we could do something more/less 'worthwhile' at some point. I wouldn't worry too much.

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

This is on my shelf but I've yet to read it... is it any good? Or will I want to completely quit my entire life?

I don't think anything you said about having a job where you make/fix things is romanticization. All my job is right now is waiting for things to break so I can tell somebody else about it. I know for certain I'm not the only one who spends most of their day in here thinking about how much nicer it would be to be making something, anything, from ice cream cones to bookshelves.

I produce a magazine. It's no great shakes, but it's something. I'm never "proud" of the final product -- the enjoyment is in the doing.

What do you actually do, Gear? Unless you'd rather not say, of course... (it sounds very sinister)

well, as an editor, you are performing an essential step in producing what will eventually be a book...

This is on my shelf but I've yet to read it... is it any good? Or will I want to completely quit my entire life?

You won't ever want to work for the post office. It seems like it'd be okay, getting a lot of exercise and walking through tree-shaded neighborhoods to deliver a vital function of the nation's economy? Apparently, not so.

I've always harbored this thing of quitting my job, getting CDL, and driving a truck. However, I don't think that I'm ready for sleeping on the side of the interstate, being away from the wife, pissing into a Gatorade bottle, or driving an eighteen-wheeler through the Isle of Manhatten.

reality television : o

You're missing the thrill I experienced when I worked in a sub shop and a McDonald's: creating sandwiches! Sandwiches that fed people. Now that's worthwhile, let me tell you. And it just keeps building because everyday you know more and more bellies have been filled by the sweat of your brow.

that's not sweat.... that's _______

(although admittedly, when I worked the clock-punching, meaningless office temp gig for a year I was having the same feelings)

That said, I'm much happier in my largely manual-laborer/blue-collar employ than I was waiting tables/bartending or could ever be in an office. My two favorite work activities are demolition and staining (wood). I may get to destroy a 2000 sq. ft. farmhouse from the inside out in the next month, it should be a blast.

the hardest job i EVER did, bar none, was to wash dishes in a little american-themed restaurant behind byres road in glasgow. i lasted one night. the garbage disposal was broken and the dishes just KEPT COMING. i might be able to handle it better now, but i took my tip-out and called them the next morning and told them i wasn't coming back. to be fair i had no idea what a "kitchen porter" did, and showed up in a white-button-down shirt, expecting to look sharp and ferry plates out to tables. i guess this isn't really a blue-collar job, though.

hasn't our own cis alternated between an oxford education and plumbing?

I also worked with total racist tweaker asshole construction guys on dreary prefab subdivision housing, and it was as hot, dusty, and miserable as you can imagine. Also, bakeries and canneries suck. So I don't know.

OTM. Trucker would be my job of choice if the other things (family, friends, girlfriend, social life, etc) didn't get in the way.

reality television : o

My word.

Reality Show Writers Seek Representation
By Richard Verrier, Times Staff Writer

The guild representing Hollywood writers disclosed Monday that more than 75% of the scribes on TV reality shows have signed cards asking to be represented by the union.

The campaign sets up a potential showdown with the companies behind such programs as "Survivor," "The Amazing Race" and "The Bachelor."

The Writers Guild of America, West, said about 1,000 reality TV writers, producers and editors out of an estimated 1,300 have requested since May 7 to join the union. Guild officials said they had sent letters to all the major production companies asking to negotiate, but none responded.

Organizing writers on reality TV shows brings to light what has been one of the proliferating genre's open secrets: that so-called unscripted shows often are scripted after all.

Behind the scenes of popular reality shows, writers craft game formats, coach contestants and feed lines to such stars as Paris Hilton in Fox's "The Simple Life."

Writers also splice together comments to create story lines and manufacture drama. In industry parlance, it's an editing process known as "Frankenbite."

Because writers are deeply involved in the dozens of reality shows, union leaders argue, they should get similar pay and benefits as writers on conventional programs.

"These are issues of justice for these writers," said Daniel Petrie Jr., president of the WGA, West. He described reality TV as a "sweatshop" for writers.
"We've heard stories of people working three or four days at a stretch with an hour and half sleep at night, or 23-hour days in 100-degree heat with no overtime."

J. Nicholas Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the industry's negotiating arm, disputed the sweatshop claims.
"I know people in the television business generally work long hours," Counter said. "I'm not aware of any exploitation."

The popularity of "Survivor" and other reality shows triggered an explosion of programs on network and cable TV. Production costs usually are cheaper than network dramas and sitcoms, although the amount of money paid in licensing fees for shows from such top producers as Mark Burnett has soared dramatically.

Writers who work on prime-time scripted shows receive a guaranteed 13-week pay of $3,477 a week, plus pension, health and residual payments. By contrast, those who work in reality shows typically earn from $700 to $1,200 a week. Unlike other writers, they typically do not receive pension, health or residuals and usually work for two to three months per job, according to the guild.

"We're making shows that make these networks millions and we can't afford a middle-class lifestyle," said Rebecca Hertz, a field producer who has worked on "The Swan" for Fox. "We think it's time for that to end."

Dave Rupel has worked on such reality shows as "Big Brother" and "Temptation Island," as well as such scripted dramas as "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "In the Heat of the Night." He said the skill set was similar.

"People who tune into a reality show expect a beginning, middle and an end," he said. "We're storytellers, and we should get the same benefits."

The guild, which began organizing the writers a year ago, said it went public with its campaign after major production companies ignored its demand for recognition.

Counter said that the guild did not have legal authority to seek recognition from the companies because some of the workers already are represented by other unions, including the Directors Guild of America and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

But Cheryl Rhoden, the guild's assistant executive director, said people who signed the authorization cards were not represented by other unions.

"We absolutely have legal authority to pursue representation for these men and women, " she said.

OMGWTF etc

Meanwhile, everyone else can feel free to write to their respective ILX representatives regarding the flagrant derailing of this thread. Sorry, folks.

actually the true secret is the "we'll pay you a flat rate, so if you work 80 hours you still get paid the same as if you worked 40. oh and if we decide to pay you for a sixth day of work--fat chance--forget about overtime."

have you thought about changing careers?

But I do have a friend -- smart, college-educated guy, grew up in a well-off suburb, brother went into advertising, never touched a drill or a saw as a kid -- who ended up working on organic farms, then going into carpentry, and now works in a fine cabinetry shop, and loves it.

What matters to me in a job is whether my actions produce something I deem worth my effort. Usually there has to be some sort of problem to solve that changes often enough to engage my interest, and I have to be good enough at it to get acceptable results. White collar jobs can pose interesting problems and obtain satisfactory results, too. Craft-related (skilled) blue collar work can be just as engaging.

Totally. I used to work at the Best Job Ever: I worked at a Lodge up in the White Mountains where, depending on the day, I was Cook, Receptionist, Handyman, Waiter or Dishwasher. DW was my fave after cooking. I spent weeks dialing in a system and once I had it down it really was like doing martial arts or playing a sport or something. A friend of mine (admittedly sort of a...hippy?) once watched me wash dishes during a particularly busy dinner and said it was like watching a dance performance. I kicked ASS at dishes.

My dream job has always been ski patroller. You wake up early, ski fresh powder at sunrise, chuck a few sticks of dynamite (or fire a Howitzer, if you're lucky), futz around in the woods with posts and rope, and then spend the rest of the day helping people that have been injured. The guys and gals at Aspen Highlands were like fucking supermen.

And you make jack-shit.

I dont really *do* anything useful in my job. I am a support tech at a satellite broadband company. People call us to whine about their service, sometimes from the Middle East. I suppose we're providing internet to those who couldnt get it any other way, so yay to the farmers and ski fields workers and so on.. but erm, we also provide bandwidth to like, the US army in Bagdhdad and stuff, so yeah, hm.

Well...yeah. And sweet, sweet lines in the fresh at 7.30am. Nothing purdier.

I've been solo freelance for 3 1/2 years now and I'm starting to get a little antsy for human contact. I'm sure it's why I've started spending so much time on ILE. I wish I lived in a city with regular FAPs -- or a wet county, for that matter.

Office work can be satisfying as long as you believe you are creating something. A lot of office work is just paper pushing, and I can see how that is depressing. I'm an engineer, so whenever something I design is built in real life, I can point to it and say "I was part of that"

Still, I always jump at the chance for field assignments when they come around, because sitting in a cubicle all days gets old.

yup!

I would kill for a 9-5 M-F office job right now.

One of them was working as an architect for her dad and making lots of mula, but she hated staring at the computer all day. So she moved several states away and got a job at a recording studio part time. Her pay is bad and hours are unpredictable. In the winter, she might only be able to get a handful of hours on the clock. But she's happy with her simpler life.

Another friend worked in an IT department for a big company making mucho dinero. Then he suddenly decided he wanted out of the office, so he studied up on auto mechanics and became one. Now he just hangs out with his wife and kid all week and works long hours Friday through Sunday. He gets paid pretty well and loves being out and about. However, he says the job is really hard physically. A lot of the older guys he works with are all scraped up from years of hard labour, so he doesn't plan to do it for too long.

My real aspiration for a career is the aquisition of knowledge. I want to have a job that allows me to continue to learn in the areas that I want to learn in. Pay does not matter. Enter a career in academia!

I felt this way all through my 6+ year career of web design which is one of the reasons I went into teaching. I wanted something that mattered. Well teaching ended up mattering a little too much for me to continue to have a life so I had to leave that.

Some of the most satisfying jobs I've had included checking groceries and working in a restaurant kitchen. In both situations I think it was the exhaustion and feeling of completing something which pleased me.

So far I'm finding that as well in my present job (programming at a university). More opportunities for feeling accomplished, real-world application (e.g. not just making someone richer), and the feeling that I'm making useful things (more so than when I did straight graphic design.)

That being said I've long known that working with bytes and pixels all day means I need to have something tangible outside of work. I like to crochet, embrodier and knit for this. Physical things are good.

my happiness at work is almost always directly related to how busy i am. it's the idle time (which, thankfully, i haven't really had in three years now) that kills me.

i fucking hated it. mind-numbing repetitive work, osha violations, back problems from standing all day, burned out three walkmen from listening to books on tape for 8-12 hours a day, getting up at 5:30am on certain days. killed my summer and killed my mood.

seriously, fuck that job.

tho one of my coworkers was the only lesbian national guard member i've ever met, and working there that summer caused me to realize that i had been suffering from massive clinical depression for the previous 7 years.

But watching my father struggle with assholes and, frankly, outright political corruption at the fire department where he worked for thirty years hasn't made a blue-collar job seem that romantic to me. Most days I'm quite glad to be abstracted from it all, and to not have to deal with people for the most part. I go for a good long bike ride at lunchtime if I need to get my blood flowing.

I don't miss eating lunch in my car either.