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41 Examples of Blue Collar

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Blue collar is slang for professions that involve physical labor, also known as manual labor. These are often skilled positions that require training and qualifications but also include unskilled labor. Blue collar jobs often pay an hourly wage as opposed to an annual salary. The following are common blue collar professions.
Aircraft Mechanic
Boilermaker
Brick Mason
Bus Driver
Carpenter
Chef
Commercial Diver
Construction Worker
Cook
Custodian
Delivery
Driver
Electrician
Equipment Operator
Farming
Firefighter
Fishing
Food Processing
Janitor
Laborer
Landscaper
Logging
Logistics & Shipping
Machinery Mechanic
Machinist
Maintenance Worker
Manufacturing Worker
Mechanic
Millwright
Miner
Painter
Plumber
Sanitation Worker
Solar Technician
Technician
Truck Driver
Utility Worker
Warehouse Worker
Waste Management
Welder
Wind Turbine Technician

Blue Collar vs White Collar

Blue collar refers to jobs that have a physical component. This is typically contrasted with white collar jobs that take place in an office or office-like environment that involve little or no physical work.

Blue Collar vs Working Class

Blue collar refers to a specific type of working conditions, namely jobs that involve physical labor. Working class is a socioeconomic group that depends on their labor to survive and earns little or no discretionary income. This doesn't allow the working class to save significant sums, accumulate capital or invest in quality of life improvements. Whether a blue collar job is working class depends entirely on salary relative to essential costs such as basic housing, food, clothing, transportation, education and healthcare. Jobs that earn considerably more than these basic costs are middle class. In the past, white collar was heavily associated with the middle class and blue collar with the working class. This has changed as a large number of low paying white collar jobs have emerged with the knowledge and service economies. It is possible for white collar jobs to be working class. Likewise, many blue collar professions are middle class.

Etymology

An analogy to the blue shirts supposedly worn by workers who perform physical labor. Apparently coined in a 1924 newspaper article from The Times of Alden, Iowa.

Notes

Beyond work, blue collar can be viewed as a culture whereby it is associated with a set of norms, expectations, values and shared experiences.
Some definitions of blue collar focus on industrial workers and trades such that they exclude professions such as firefighter and farmer.
As a political class, blue collar workers can be referred to the proletariat.
Overview: Blue Collar
Type
Definition
Professions that involve physical labor, also known as manual labor.
Related Concepts

Class Consciousness

This is the complete list of articles we have written about class consciousness.
Blue Collar
Bourgeoisie
Class Consciousness
Class System
Creative Class
Demographics
Economics
Intelligentsia
Middle Class
Proletariat
Social Status
Upper Class
White Collar
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