I did a story the other day about a local company that has jobs available, but too few good candidates to fill them. Now, go back and read that sentence again, I know you think you read it wrong. Heck, I wrote it, and it still gave me pause.
Yes, Gichner Systems Group is hiring. The jobs aren't for paperwork pushers, they are for welders, painters and others who have strong experience in machine shops.
Maybe not something you would see on an episode of the popular "Dirty Jobs" show on the Discovery Channel, but I still think many of the positions Gichner is hiring for could be classified as "shower after."
And interestingly enough, the head of Gichner and "Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe think the same way about this gap between the unemployment rate in American and the jobs that are still out there for people: Too many Americans think they are entitled to do something better than hard, dirty work for whatever reason.
I've done very dirty work in my time, and admittedly, I've probably been guilty of having this "deserve better" perspective they talk about.
Take a look at this profile of Mike Rowe I found this morning on the Outside magazine Web site. He really manages to make some interesting points, and uses an even more interesting life than comes across in his television show to ground his perspective.
Also, please note the local ties Rowe has: He grew up in a rural area outside Baltimore, and the dirty job shown on page two of this profile is in Carlisle.
Now, all that being said, I can see where a lot of Americans are coming from: Our society would see someone who has an MBA going to shovel manure for a job as the ultimate failure in life.
And there are definitely downsides to doing dirty work. When I was a manure-shoveler, for example, my snot would turn some fun shades of green and yellow from the powdery poultry fodder that would get whipped up into the air.
What do you think? Is it time for the American attitude to change on hard work? Or do we owe it to our parents, and in many cases ourselves, who worked so hard to put us through college to keep the clean work dream alive?
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