A labor market conundrum: Skilled and high-paying blue-collar jobs go unfilled

Post by inovica » Wed, Jul 05, 2017, 7:41 PM UTC

zucchini_head wrote: post #21

I have a little story about this kind of thing, where doing something rather simple and low-skill can make an absolute fortune. One night I was talking to an older friend of a friend, 50+, around a year ago now. We were talking about what we did for a living and what we got paid. We started off with what he did: He's a bricklayer, nothing more, and told me that they get paid per brick they lay. It's something like £4…

Post by jaclaz » Wed, Jul 05, 2017, 7:43 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #15

fuzzybeard wrote: post #5

> “You can go to college and learn the theology of the Roman Empire,” says Kleis, who just completed a three-day training program at 84 Lumber’s rural Pennsylvania headquarters. “You learn all this ridiculous nonsense, and when you get out, what are you applying that to? I know how to frame a house.” This is so incredibly vapid and such a poor argument to make in favor of what is otherwise a valid case being made by…

Ehh, I don't know. It is sharply worded, but "vapid and poor"? I have a graduate degree. The CS portions of that have indeed been useful in my career as a programmer. However, the rest of my liberal arts education have been helpful in... well... conversing with other liberal arts grads. I sound fairly well-spoken, I suppose, when writing up documentation that no one usually reads. I can reasonably frame a critical ar…

Post by cm2012 » Wed, Jul 05, 2017, 7:54 PM UTC

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #20

RealityNow wrote: post #13

> 84 Lumber’s owner, Maggie Hardy Magerko, has something in common with the president. Both inherited businesses from their fathers that have made them fabulously rich. Magerko owns almost all of closely held 84 Lumber, whose stores cater primarily to residential builders and contractors. She is worth $2.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. > Magerko, 51, is not afraid to flaunt her wealth, sendi…

“I want people who work for me to retire in their 50s and own their own boats,” she says. God that sounds terrible anyway. Do that many people want to retire - literally have nothing greater than themselves that requires their input on a daily basis - and go sit on a boat? What a waste.

Post by sliverstorm » Wed, Jul 05, 2017, 8:02 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #15

fuzzybeard wrote: post #5

> “You can go to college and learn the theology of the Roman Empire,” says Kleis, who just completed a three-day training program at 84 Lumber’s rural Pennsylvania headquarters. “You learn all this ridiculous nonsense, and when you get out, what are you applying that to? I know how to frame a house.” This is so incredibly vapid and such a poor argument to make in favor of what is otherwise a valid case being made by…

Ehh, I don't know. It is sharply worded, but "vapid and poor"? I have a graduate degree. The CS portions of that have indeed been useful in my career as a programmer. However, the rest of my liberal arts education have been helpful in... well... conversing with other liberal arts grads. I sound fairly well-spoken, I suppose, when writing up documentation that no one usually reads. I can reasonably frame a critical ar…

Post by AndrewKemendo » Wed, Jul 05, 2017, 8:49 PM UTC

ImSkeptical wrote: post #35

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“I want people who work for me to retire in their 50s and own their own boats,” she says. God that sounds terrible anyway. Do that many people want to retire - literally have nothing greater than themselves that requires their input on a daily basis - and go sit on a boat? What a waste.

Both of my parents are retired. My father spends his time with his amateur radio, writes magazine articles for niche publications (about amateur radio), works around the house, and sometimes consults with startups from his former field. My mother spends her time reading novels, taking care of grandchildren, visiting family members, and volunteering. Retirement seems like a good deal to me. It's not an inability to do…