In a very general way, our society has fallen out of love with the skilled trades. Part of the problem is a myriad of myths and misperceptions that surround the jobs themselves, but the biggest cause is our stubborn belief that a four-year degree is the best path for the most people.

Mike Rowe

Categorized in : Best People Love Path

Some jobs pay better, some jobs smell better, and some jobs have no business being treated like careers. But work is never the enemy, regardless of the wage. Because somewhere between the job and the paycheck, there’s still a thing called opportunity, and that’s what people need to pursue.

careers opportunity jobs

Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that’s consistent with those beliefs. Many people today resent the suggestion that they’re in charge of the way they feel.Those people are mistaken. That was a big lesson and I learned it several hundred times before it stuck. What you do, who you’re with, and how you feel about the world around you, is completely up to you.

knowing jobs people

I think a trillion dollars of student loans and a massive skills gap are precisely what happens to a society that actively promotes one form of education as the best course for the most people. I think the stigmas and stereotypes that keep so many people from pursuing a truly useful skill, begin with the mistaken belief that a four-year degree is somehow superior to all other forms of learning.

skills years thinking

We are lending money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist. That's nuts.

money jobs kids

Passion is too important to be without, but too fickle to be guided by. Which is why I’m more inclined to say, 'Don’t Follow Your Passion, But Always Bring it With You.'

fickle passion important

The skills gap is a reflection of what we value. To close the gap, we need to change the way the country feels about work.

skills reflection country

The flaw in our character is our insistence on separating blue-collar jobs from white-collar jobs, and encouraging one form of education over another.

wisdom jobs character

Dirt used to be a badge of honor. Dirt used to look like work. But we've scrubbed the dirt off the face of work and consequently we've created this suspicion of anything that's too dirty.

honor looks dirty

Happiness comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that's consistent with those beliefs.

knowing belief way

Why does a chicken coop only have two doors? ... Because if it had four doors, it would be a chicken sedan.

doe doors two

What you do, who you’re with, and how you feel about the world around you, is completely up to you.

how-you-feel up-to-you world

I can say the willingness to get dirty has always defined us as an nation, and it's a hallmark of hard work and a hallmark of fun, and dirt is not the enemy.

hard-work fun dirty

Opportunity usually shows up in overalls and looking like work. by Mike Rowe

Opportunity usually shows up in overalls and looking like work.

overalls inspiration opportunity

If we are lending money that ostensibly we don't have to kids who have no hope of making it back in order to train them for jobs that clearly don't exist, I might suggest that we've gone around the bend a little bit.

jobs order kids

I wouldn't wish any specific thing for any specific person - it's none of my business. But the idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane. It's insane.

wish years ideas

Anything worth doing hurts a little. by Mike Rowe

Anything worth doing hurts a little.

anything-worth-doing hurt littles

Don't follow your passion, but always bring it with you. by Mike Rowe

Don't follow your passion, but always bring it with you.

follow-your-passion passion

Not all knowledge comes from college. by Mike Rowe

Not all knowledge comes from college.

dirty-jobs college

My mothers dad dropped out of the eighth grade to work. He had to. By the time he was 30, he was a master electrician, plumber, carpenter, mason, mechanic. That guy was, to me, a magician. Anything that was broken, he could fix. Anybody anywhere in our community knew that if there was a problem, Carl was there to fix it.

dad broken mother

The search for truth in cyberspace will take you through the wormhole, and there's nothing on the other side but pedants and nitpickers and bottomless ambiguity. If you're not careful, you'll spend all your time proving everything and understanding nothing.

pedants understanding sides