I’m struggling with this now. In my 20’s I worked all the low-wage crap jobs but I was physically moving a lot.
Now I get paid a lot more to sit on a computer all day at home, and I still love computer programming, web development, building networks, etc.
The problem is I miss it being a hobby. I’m kind of burned out on our work project and sometimes I daydream about going back to work in fast food. Believe it or not I loved working in the kitchen at McDonald’s during lunch rush — it sounds fucking cheesy but my store manager and I used to race to see who could make orders faster without making mistakes.
Going back is just not doable now with the cost of living now.
Edit: I realize writing this makes it sound like I’m calling garbage truck driver a shitty job; my intention originally was to say that I miss physically working (and to an extent being in the world) but I veered off in my late night state
I’d love a society where people have to work less for a start, but also where the blue collar jobs are distributed so that information workers had some physical job to do as well. That way they get to work their minds and their bodies, don’t wear out either one, and the diversity of experience allows ideas to cross pollinate.
If an engineer worked in garbage disposal they’d be able to engineer out some pain points of the job. A doctor, physiotherapist, administrator, researcher, lawyer, all could learn and help a lot if they saw how the other side lives. People doing blue collar jobs wouldn’t be stuck, continuing education would be normalised, the “prestige” aspect of different jobs would be lessened, service and menial workers would be less neglected, and the “ivory tower” of white collar and academic work would come down.
The wages for those jobs would need to go up. I don’t know why the most important jobs in a society like cleaning are some of the worst paid and looked down.
Since we’re fantasising about an ideal society I’d get rid of wage slavery entirely.
I agree the best jobs are the worst paid, but I think the absolute most important are jobs like child-rearing, and they’re usually completely unpaid. It’s basically a complete inversion between pay grade and importance.
Im smart enough i could make good money at a desk job, but i just can’t do that. I gotta move during the day, i like using my muscles, i hate sitting still for hours on end. Ive ended up in trades and these jobs are nice because they can be physical but also need my brain. I just wish I was paid better. Im often working in homes of very wealthy people providing an essential service (drinking water) but I will struggle to own a shack at my wage.
I believe the trades are actually pretty profitable as long as you run your own shop? I could be wrong of course.
Gotta have capital to run a shop. When you struggle to buy a shack to live in, you’ll also struggle to put a van on a road, own a shop to operate, buy enough materials and equipment up front.
Ive been at my new position for nearly a year and im doing great. Im going to make it clear to my boss soon that if he wants to keep me, i need to make enough to enter the housing market.
