Musical accompaniment: Risque by Los Españoles
Even with the Internet, Americans know very little about each other’s lives. With the size of the United States, you’d think the biggest differences between Americans would be geographic. But in my opinion, the real differences are in the work we do and whether we live in an urban or rural setting.
Working in an office can be difficult, no doubt about that! But until I started my own business, I always had jobs where I got training and there was someone to ask if I didn’t know an answer. Now when I’m in doubt, I figure it out! It gives me a new appreciation for and curiosity about the work people do.
Working class jobs require a tremendous amount of expertise and ingenuity. Take this fellow for instance. He’s a rat catcher. It can’t be easy to catch a rat! They’re wily creatures, known for their survival instincts. This man is armed with some sort of contraption but you have to be a pretty capable person to outwit the rat and catch it without getting bitten.
LOC
Here is the “World’s Smallest Newstand” in New Orleans. It seems to be a one-man job. It would take a lot of brains to operate a newstand. You’d have to order the papers, stock them, sell them, and figure out what to do with the unsold ones. Probably a lot more than that to it!
Bygonely
These women are working at a laundry in Boston. One of them is operating a wringer. This kind of work is more tedious. You don’t have a lot of new problems to solve but it would require patience, attention to detail, and some level of perfectionism. This photo was taken in 1906, before radios could provide any entertainment or break from the monotony. Either these ladies were deep thinkers or great conversationalists. And look at all the work waiting for them!
LOC
Lastly, take a look at the workers from the levee in New Orleans. They’re waiting for their pay after a week of back-breaking work. You see the sun is still rising in this picture. It would have been very hot sticky work for most of the year.
bygonely
Did you see Has It Come to This is available? It’s taken me a long time to republish my books but it’s finally done! Has it Come to This would be a great Christmas present for any true crime lovers in your life. A real Christmas Eve murder mystery!
old spirituals 
i wonder what the rat catcher was spraying at the rats. glad that’s somebody else’s job!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know what he has in his hand but probably it is a chemical sprayer. Ugh! I’m no fan of rats!
LikeLike
We tend to diminish jobs performed by those with less formal education. The fact is, to become an expert at anything requires training and experience. Even a rat catcher (today called Pest Control Specialist) must take a test to prove proficiency in nearly every State because of the hazardous chemicals.
Craftsmen like carpenters, electricians, mechanics or even a car body shop repair technicians require formal education and training. Ever notice the AEI Plaque in the Service Department of your local car dealer? AEI is the acronym for Automotive Engineering Institute which trains auto mechanics.
Some of those crafts not only require technical knowledge and experience but artistic skills as well. All one has to do is look at a welding bead laid by a poorly skilled welder compared to one with artistic skills; or, a finish carpenter’s work with artistic skills to compared to one without those skills. Unfortunately, decades ago American culture decided that everyone should have a college degree and eliminated high school classes in woodworking, car mechanics, home economic, etc. Those classes taught and demonstrated the importance of having knowledge in all other subjects. A true craftsman must be trained in mathematics. A machinist, welder, carpenter, etc., cannot be a true craftsman if they do not know or use the math required to perform the trade.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s a lot of research backing up what you say! Thinking from my other incarnation (career coach) I would say.college degrees are mainly about perceptions. Other than some specific fields like STEM, people don’t tend to gain really practical, usable information from a college education. And colleges often take advantage of students with ballooning tuition.
But…I don’t think people generally come out of high school well equipped to earn a living. It’s worth considering whether college is the best choice or whether a skilled trade might suit a person better, and in the long run, be more profitable.
Add to that, there is a continual need for people with electrician and carpentry skills, to give just two examples. And not enough people with those skills to fill the need.
LikeLike