Mike Rowe Philosophy

[VanLifeCrisis]

So i am a big fan of Mike Rowe and his work. He seems like a genuinely down to earth guy. He has started a foundation for, and has rigorously promoted, the idea of trade schools and doing sometimes 'crummy' jobs, because they need to be done. I always agreed, kids need to at least know that there are good options out there besides 4yr college and cubicles. But i also think the more I read about it, how it could also be promoting the cog atmosphere of the system. The cynical part of me thinks "Hey this guy is basically telling you to bust your hump at an hourly job, dig in and be happy with your lot. Chug away and churn out those taxes." But then i think "Some of those skill trades are pretty handy and have a universal application that would help in a more free and nomadic lifestyle too when turned into your own business."

So what do you think, does the venerable Mike Rowe's philosophy extoll gumption and hard work leading to happiness, or is it a shill for conformity and work enslavement? Or maybe a bit of both or neither one?

(I hope i worded this to be more philosophical a discussion and not political.)

 

[jeanontheroad]

Back in the Jurassic, I used to be a Production Scheduler at a manufacturer. We had a guy from a German trade school in the shop who the engineers used to go to for advice. My family were all union tradesmen. By the time they got through an apprenticeship, they knew their stuff and we're worth their pay. Union contracts brought everyone's wages and benefits up.

With union busting, employers can hire any clown off the streets who can recognize a hammer for low wages. Employers who would pay a living wage can't do it because they have to compete with those who don't. We may pay a little less (not much) for a house or a car now, but without the supporting force of unions, everyone's wages and benefits stagnated.

 

[rvwandering]

We don't have access to cable so I've never watched Mike's show. Actually I didn't know who he was until I googled him but I think promoting blue collar jobs and and providing scholarships is a wonderful idea. Sure, they may become a cog in the system but so are all of the workers at Walmart, calling centers and McDonalds. Unskilled employees stay that way. They learn little of value on the job, work just as hard as skilled workers and have few options for finding more interesting, better paying positions.

I firmly believe that all high school students should be made aware of the many jobs available that do not require college degrees. It's also not necessary to pay to go to a trade school. All of the trade unions have apprenticeship programs. The programs are very rigorous and the starting pay is low but after four or five years the apprentices are skilled journeymen making good wages, with a skill that is valuable to them and society. Having a skill definitely frees people from the type of oppression that comes when an employer knows that their employees can not easily find another job.

 

[wagoneer]

Always teed me off that High schools dropped the "shops" wood shop machine shop, I was the teachers assistant an old German guy.

 

[mockturtle]

I have no idea who Mike Rowe is but my opinion is that honest labor at any level is to be respected. And I have more respect for a garbage collector, who is doing a necessary job, than, say, a stockbroker who is, in many respects, similar to a bookmaker at the racetrack. The more necessary and functional the occupation, the more I respect it. Unfortunately, our society doesn't always see it that way. Hence, ballplayers earn more than surgeons. I would urge young people to learn a useful trade like plumbing, diesel maintenance, hazardous waste management, etc. if they aren't inclined toward a profession like medicine, education, etc. These trades pay well and are always in demand.

 

[concretebox]

I have mixed feelings about the man.

Mike Rowe is an actor with a college degree in Drama. He found a gig that really elevated is career and latched onto the persona of the hard working blue collar American male. It's easy to be philosophical when you're a millionaire and the voice of Ford Trucks.

That being said, he has a good point about the insistence of going to college and the "put-down" on blue collar jobs. Universities are a scam. Tuition goes up every year to cover "budget problems," while administrator salaries never go down. There are millions of graduates still working unskilled labor but now with 50k of dept.

I have a degree in Graphic Design, but I've almost never been able to put much info savings. I looked into average salaries of auto mechanics and it was on par with my supposedly "high-class professional" career.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Well, concretebox, welcome to the club. DH made more as a union machinist than he did as a Design Engineer. One advantage of the engineering job was that he could do it even after the back and the knees and the ankles got bad.

 

[caseyc]

I used to watch Mike's TV show which I found entertaining. Since I no longer have cable television, I haven't seen his shows in some time now, assuming they are still aired. I find Mike to be a likeable guy, at least as a television personality. Haven't heard anything bad about him. Watching some of his shows knee deep in manure or sewer muck made me cringe a bit. I'd rather be flipping burgers at Wendy's than cleaning cr@p in some gawd-forsaken dark crevice. But then again, that's why I got a bachelor degree from a business school, so I can at least do low-level white-collar mucky-muck, paper-pushing, brown-nosing wage-slave work. How's that for adjective overload??

 

[Zil]

Mike started as an opera star.

 

[Reducto]

Anyone needing a quick overview of his philosophy I suggest listening to his Ted talk.

We're all cogs in someone's machine. Many "respectable" jobs can take over your life and make you miserable. Other jobs that might not look good on an online dating profile can pay better and leave you with a clear head and sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. He's simply pointing out that there's nothing wrong with doing something messy or unusual for a living. It can also be very lucrative if you find an under-served market (digging up blood worms was one example he used) or take a skilled job where there simply aren't enough skilled workers available.

Also I believe the show was his idea.

 

[mconlonx]

The nice thing about cogs are that they are replaceable. And regarding the crummy jobs Mike Rowe shows, there is usually not low turnover. So if you have skill or experience doing something most would rather not, and are mobile, and are living a lifestyle which doesn't cost that much... I'd say such jobs and skills are a good match for the vandwelling lifestyle. Especially if it's a grungy job where the employer provides a locker room and shower.

I work a professional job in publishing. It largely revolves around managing and buying print manufacture. Not a lot of future in it. And I've been out of the field once, expect neither this job nor the job description in the industry will last much past this decade. While working for a big company, I saw cube workers galore, and if they're shoveling less shit than those working physically harder, blue collar jobs, I'd be surprised...

I am college educated, but made sure I had some practical skills as well, and keep picking up new ones. Woodworking. Meat cutting/slaughtering. Welding. Bike mechanics. That last one was my profession for five years until recently, and I'd planned to use that particular skill to support a nomadic lifestyle. Except I got sucked back into publishing with an offer too good to refuse. Still, I keep my skills sharp by working PT at a bike shop, cutting meat/slaughtering on a family farm.

With blue collar jobs, especially the no- or low-skilled ones, anyone can do them; most would not; many, because of their lifestyle, cannot.

 

[caseyc]

I agree than van dwelling means I can "afford" to work a crummy low paying job if I have to. I couldn't do that if I had to pay high rent every month.

 

[PeterG]

I believe Mike's cause with promoting skilled blue collar jobs is about filling a need there is out there. It isn't so much ditch digging as heavy equipment operators, machinists, fabricators, etc. Several have said it already, but when our economy was strong, unions were strong and helped build a solid middle-class. The ultra-rich aren't job creators. Consumers are job creators. They use their vast purchasing power to buy goods and services. The better their wages, the more they purchase, the more businesses start and expand to keep up with that demand, which creates jobs.

His thing is that there is such a push for people to attend college, and though college is great, it isn't for everyone. I have worked in retail for over 20 years, from the grunts on the floor, to security, to management. I worked my way up through that system, and was paid well in the management jobs I have had.

I have always envied people who work in construction, though. To go home at the end of the day or week or month and be able to say, "I built that." To have that sense of having helped create something must be very satisfying. I know the most fun I have is building stuff, working with my hands.

They say that most people spend more time picking out their wardrobe than their career.

 

[jeanontheroad]

You are right, Peter. The super rich do not create jobs. But they sure like to pretend they do while they demand lower income taxes and reduced capital gains taxes. The few jobs they do create are CPA's and financial advisors. They don't spend all that money, creating manufacturing jobs. They invest it in tax shelters and hedge funds.

 

[caseyc]

Currently, I'm earning $X dollar amount annually. If I were to find another job that I might even enjoy a bit and find satisfaction out of versus my current job, I'm pretty sure I would take a pay cut of 25 to 40%. Should I do it? I don't know. At this moment, I don't even know what else I'd rather do. I just know I want to do something different and soon. Fortunately, with the van lifestyle, my expenses are rather low, so I think I can actually survive on a lower monthly income. I will probably be making tough decisions in upcoming months.

 

[LeeRevell]

Arguably the 'super rich' can create jobs when they are expanding their companies, hiring more worker bees and lower management. It's politics that is a totally useless 'profession', packed with 'useless eaters'. Entertainment is similar in some ways, though they do create a 'product' that many pay for, and there are indirect job opportunities in that field.
What worries me, is we were once a very strong manufacturing nation, exporting our products worldwide. Now we have sent much of our manufacturing offshore, and are becoming more a 'service economy'. If the people work only to provide a service they themselves, as well as others, pay for, it becomes a sort of closed system. We import far too much, and insist on low prices, resulting in lower quality. Workers paid a low wage to produce, have no real incentive to do their best. It's a system that is eating itself alive.
So, if Mike can get more folks doing real constructive work, all the better. Of course a lot of those dirtier jobs are in the 'service' category.
I had an acquaintance at work who serviced our big office printers. He was always stressed, and had a short fuse. He eventually retired and took up chicken farming, no joke! He said he enjoyed it much more - and it doesn't get much dirtier than that!

 

[caseyc]

But the chickens don't complain. That in itself is less stress.

I work in high finance. The constant client complaints is getting to me.

 

[mockturtle]

Several have said it already, but when our economy was strong, unions were strong and helped build a solid middle-class. The ultra-rich aren't job creators. Consumers are job creators. They use their vast purchasing power to buy goods and services. The better their wages, the more they purchase, the more businesses start and expand to keep up with that demand, which creates jobs.

Can you imagine the boost to our economy had the bailout billions been given to the citizen-consumers rather than to the investment bankers?

 

[jeanontheroad]

Lee, you are getting your apples and pineapples mixed up. When businesses expand, they are not taxed on the money used to hire new workers or to acquire new facilities. Most large businesses are incorporated and, so, are legally separated for income and tax and liability purposes from their owners/stockholders. S Corps are a different story, but can only get so big before they must convert to C Corps. Super rich businesses and super rich people are not the same entities - altho the Hobby Lobby decision has begun to blur the lines.

---

Mock, I always thought that it was an abomination that the bailouts did not require the companies getting them to write down the loans they held on a dollar for dollar basis. Another abomination was what companies taking ludicrous risks with no due diligence got bailed out. If you remember back then, certain people in a certain party were getting voters all worked up about home owners who had lost their jobs or who had ended up with predatory loans or who were underwater with their homes and trapped in homes they could no longer afford would be getting a few bucks' break. They painted these people as irresponsible moochers while ignoring huge bonuses and profits going to the very people who caused the disaster.

Remember this when you vote next month.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I just want to point out mike did want to be an actor, and opera was a faster way to get into the actors guild (he explains this in an interview with glenn beck).

But he was raised on a farm with his grandfather who was a master electrician, plumber, and like 4 other trades. He tried to follow in his footsteps but was pretty bad at it, so he focused his energies elsewhere. In his address to congress(you can find it on youtube), he explains dirty jobs was his idea, and he made it for his grandfather, that told mike he never got to see hard work on television. I don't think its an act to boost his career, i think he believes in what he's advocating, for better or worse.