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Define "unskilled". I would say that even if software developer does not have a degree he or she still needs to be quite smart. Now imagine typical blue collar

by mamon 10y ago

Define "unskilled". I would say that even if software developer does not have a degree he or she still needs to be quite smart. Now imagine typical blue collar worker having IQ below 100, who dropped from high school (as they often do) learning advanced technical concepts like network protocols, dozen of JS frameworks, not to mention higher order functions and macros. That's the issue with technical advancements: there are more and more jobs for people with high IQ and vast knowledge, and less and less jobs for people who can only work with their muscles, not brains.

walshemj 10y ago
Not all "Blue" collar jobs are unskilled and some do require intelligence for example an experienced machinist or technician may know as much if not more than the "Profesional"
- clarry 10y ago
  But even there the trend is towards making the "blue collar" machinist a mere button pusher & tool bit changer while the machining process is planned and the machine programmed elsewhere. Perhaps by a former machinist now sitting in an office. I can only imagine it going more and more in this direction with improved CAD & CAM tools that enable people without any machining experience to program the machines. I don't have a problem with this development. It can be quite a depressing sight to take a tour at the machine shop floor where machinists sit next to their CNC machines, maybe wiping coolant off of pieces and putting them in boxes, maybe just reading a comic..
randomdata 10y ago
> Now imagine typical blue collar worker having IQ below 100 I, quite honestly, really struggle to imagine this person. As someone involved in the agriculture industry, I see a lot of blue collar people. They all seem quite intelligent and capable to me. Some I could consider absolute geniuses. Save a small group who have real crippling disabilities, I'm not sure I have ever met a person who I think would struggle with those technical concepts. It's a time commitment, for sure, but not a particularly difficult undertaking. What I have observed over the years are numerous people who think that this kind of technical work would be an awful way to make a living. That's the real barrier to entry. It is difficult to put in the necessary time when you get absolutely no enjoyment out of it, as difficult as that is for me – and I expect everyone else around here – to understand. Or maybe I've just lived a sheltered life. The high school completion rate where I live is about 90%, so these people who you say can be identified as high school dropouts are not particularly common to begin with.
- ryanmarsh 10y ago
  This. I've worked with plenty of smart uneducated people. In the army and various industries I've been around (trucking, manufacturing) there are plenty of knuckleheads but also a surprising number of very smart people for whom the education system either wasn't a fit or an option.
BurningFrog 10y ago
> I would say that even if software developer does not have a degree he or she still needs to be quite smart. Agreed. That's what I meant by "if not the unskilled"

by mamon 10y ago

walshemj 10y ago

Not all "Blue" collar jobs are unskilled and some do require intelligence for example an experienced machinist or technician may know as much if not more than the "Profesional"

clarry 10y ago
But even there the trend is towards making the "blue collar" machinist a mere button pusher & tool bit changer while the machining process is planned and the machine programmed elsewhere. Perhaps by a former machinist now sitting in an office. I can only imagine it going more and more in this direction with improved CAD & CAM tools that enable people without any machining experience to program the machines. I don't have a problem with this development. It can be quite a depressing sight to take a tour at the machine shop floor where machinists sit next to their CNC machines, maybe wiping coolant off of pieces and putting them in boxes, maybe just reading a comic..

randomdata 10y ago

> Now imagine typical blue collar worker having IQ below 100 I, quite honestly, really struggle to imagine this person. As someone involved in the agriculture industry, I see a lot of blue collar people. They all seem quite intelligent and capable to me. Some I could consider absolute geniuses. Save a small group who have real crippling disabilities, I'm not sure I have ever met a person who I think would struggle with those technical concepts. It's a time commitment, for sure, but not a particularly difficult undertaking. What I have observed over the years are numerous people who think that this kind of technical work would be an awful way to make a living. That's the real barrier to entry. It is difficult to put in the necessary time when you get absolutely no enjoyment out of it, as difficult as that is for me – and I expect everyone else around here – to understand. Or maybe I've just lived a sheltered life. The high school completion rate where I live is about 90%, so these people who you say can be identified as high school dropouts are not particularly common to begin with.

ryanmarsh 10y ago
This. I've worked with plenty of smart uneducated people. In the army and various industries I've been around (trucking, manufacturing) there are plenty of knuckleheads but also a surprising number of very smart people for whom the education system either wasn't a fit or an option.

BurningFrog 10y ago

> I would say that even if software developer does not have a degree he or she still needs to be quite smart. Agreed. That's what I meant by "if not the unskilled"