What blue collar trade requires the most academic knowledge?

[bluemoonKY]

BluemoonKY has never put forth any effort in any of his posts to do even an initial google in order to provide any information.

How in the nation could you possibly know whether or not I've put forth any effort in any of my posts to do even an initial google in order to provide any information?

. Now I ask you, what's the importance of such a label especially when it's meant to demean people it is applied to?

I find there to frequently be a giant difference between blue collar jobs and white collar jobs. White collar jobs are jobs in which one typical works at a desk on a computer or with paperwork. Blue collar jobs are manual labor type jobs that don't require a university education where one works with his or her hands. Contrary to what some people have said on this thread, the terms are still used frequently and confidently in American life, and normal people don't find the use of the words objectionable either.

P.S. Why did you say "especially when it's meant to demean people it is applied to"? When did I or anyone else on this thread demean blue collar workers or white collar workers?

 

[OCR]

I obtained an A&P license in 1973...

Here is basically what it entailed:

http://www.faa.gov/mechanics/become/
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-id...6&mc=true&node=pt14.2.65&rgn=div5#sp14.2.65.d

I could not even take the FAA tests without going to school...

The school was an FAA Certified Repair Station... under supervision of course, we could work on real "live" airplanes, owned by the general public....

An A&P Mechanic would probably be classified as a blue collar worker... with a very clean collar, though..... ..

The next step "up" is an Inspection Authorization.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-id...mc=true&node=pt14.2.65&rgn=div5#se14.2.65_191

 

[Lord Anoobis]

The next step "up" is an Inspection Authorization.

A step "up" into a whole new set of problems, yes indeed. I'm sure you can relate to the level of entertainment that ensues when someone much higher up the chain of command implements a plan which inevitably turns into a disaster. I suppose you get the equivalent of Operation Market Garden in every sphere though.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Looking into the literature it's very easy to find a tonne of sociological and epidemiological articles using the term blue collar, here's a small sample that I've just skimmed through over lunch:

Disparities in punishment of white- and blue-collar crimes in Austria
The process of burnout in white-collar and blue-collar jobs: eight year prospective study of exhaustion
Effects of a tailored health promotion program for female blue-collar workers: health works for women
Reducing social disparities in tobacco use: a social model for reducing tobacco use among blue-collar workers

Somewhat surprisingly none actually define blue-collar or white-collar, the first article interestingly defines the crimes and not the profession. The latter tobacco article does delve a bit further into socioeconomic status but doesn't directly relate blue-collar to it.

Having done some social epidemiology modules in the past (but not being educated or working in this field) I get the impression that these definitions aren't commonly defined because they aren't in society. The blue/white classification is very much both objective and subjective. Objectively there are criteria such as: level of education, ratio of manual versus mental work, position on organisation hierarchy etcetera. But I'd argue there are also less objective measurements related to social class; nurses are a good example even though they mostly perform manual work and up until recently (in my country at least) did not require a university education, but the profession is highly regarded.

One last point: whilst the concept isn't solidly defined and changes in both time and culture it's one of those definitions that works fairly well at the extremes. Plumbers, carpenters, electricians, seamstress, cleaner, driver etc are all commonly regarded as blue-collar whereas doctors, scientists, management, accountants, clerks etc are all commonly regarded as white-collar. It's the large grey middle that causes issue.

 

[gjonesy]

I would absolutely not consider someone working on an aircraft to be blue collar. We can usually identify what's blue collar and what isn't based on job title: Auto mechanic, aircraft technician. Programmer vs software engineer. Carpenter vs architect.

Are nurses blue collar workers? They do most of the manual labor of the patient care, where doctor tend to make the important decisions and do highly technical manual things (nurses disimpact bowels, doctors do neurosurgery.) Nurses, especially at the higher ranks (CRNP like my mother) tend to have masters degrees.

Welder fabricator, is a highly skilled trade. it involves a lot of math, especially doing ASME code work. Some mechanical components require a lot of precision and tolerance to 1/100s to 1/1,000 of an inch. You are part hook boogy and part engineer. A lot of times designs don't work out as they were drawn so the fabricator sometimes has to tweak and or "interpret" the engineers vision to make a machine work as intended.

P.S. I am proud of my "blue collar roots" as a welder fabricator. Now I'd be considered a white collar, funny though I make less money now, and the skill set required is in my opinion far less then a fabricator.

 

[bluemoonKY]

Welder fabricator, is a highly skilled trade. it involves a lot of math, especially doing ASME code work. .

What type of math does a welder fabricator have to use for his job? I mean, is it just arithmetic? Or does a welder fabricator have to use geometry or algebra, or trigonometry or any other type of math?

 

[gjonesy]

What type of math does a welder fabricator have to use for his job?

Depends on what he or she is fabricating, it helps to be able to understand factions, millimeters, calculation of radius, angles in degrees, It can be simple as being able to read a tape measure, to understanding complex calculations, ect

http://www.weldmyworld.com/blog/2012/03/math-for-welders.html

 

[Evo]

P.S. Why did you say "especially when it's meant to demean people it is applied to"? When did I or anyone else on this thread demean blue collar workers or white collar workers?

I apologize, I was too critical of you.

Among white collar workers in the US, it is unfortunate that many people use the term "blue collar" as a put down, insinuating that the person is of low social status and education.

• Blue-collar is often used in a derogatory sense to indicate lower socioeconomic status to others and conversely indicate pride in ones own status.

]http://sociologydictionary.org/blue-collar-worker/

Why the Disdain for American Blue-Collar Workers?

Judgments about intelligence carry great weight in our society, and unfortunately Americans (especially American lawmakers and media elites) are developing an unsettling tendency to make sweeping assessments of people’s intelligence, as well as their overall worthiness as human beings, based upon the kind of work they do.

Culturally speaking, American comedy has increasingly become a forum for abusing blue-collar career values in order to provide humor for the white-collar class. American comedy is now being used to denigrate the worth of blue-collar jobs, make fun of blue-collar values, and mock the lifestyle of blue-collar families.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-mcgarvey/why-the-disdain-for-ameri_b_7746642.html

 

[russ_watters]

Somewhat surprisingly none actually define blue-collar or white-collar, the first article interestingly defines the crimes and not the profession.

That's because the crimes aren't necessarily related to any profession. I'm not an accountant, but if I cheat on my taxes, that's a white collar crime. Since crimes are concise, specific acts it is much easier to classify them as blue/white collar than it is to classify jobs as blue/white collar.

The next two articles are behind a paywall, but the third says this:

Results of this study for tobacco use cessation for blue-collar (hourly) and white-collar (salaried) workers are presented in Figure 3.

Guess that makes me blue collar.

In any case, that one's not a study itself, it is an analysis of other studies. It would be nice if they defined the terms they were using, but presumably they left that to the actual studies.

 

[russ_watters]

I apologize, I was too critical of you.

Frankly, I was getting a vibe of a charge of the other side of the coin; elitism from the white collar. That's why I don't like these terms. They are loaded.

 

[Evo]

Frankly, I was getting a vibe of a charge of the other side of the coin; elitism from the white collar. That's why I don't like these terms. They are loaded.

Yes, it is elitism.

 

[gjonesy]

Among white collar workers in the US, it is unfortunate that many people use the term "blue collar" as a put down, insinuating that the person is of low social status and education.

Yeah unfortunately that is sometimes the case. BUT if this minority who believe "blue collar work" is beneath them only knew the blood sweat and tears required to gain the skills of a master craftsman in highly technical trades, I feel they would gain a lot of respect for the few at the bottom who helped to build this country, make life easier, and in general keep the wheels of progress turning. No electricians no light, no plumbers no bathroom or indoor water, no masons no carpenters no buildings, no welders fabricators no machinery. This country was built on the backs of craftsmen. And I am very proud to have been within their ranks.

P.S. To be able to create with your hands is the means by which human survival and mastery of the environment began. From making simple hand tools out of rock to building $500,000 machinery this has been one of mans greater achievements.

 

[OCR]

And I am very proud to have been within their ranks.

 

[Hornbein]

I remember seeing a quiz show from the Soviet Union, something kind of like Jeopardy. The contestants had professions like bus driver and plumber. Never saw that in the US.