Still Out of Work? 6 Blue-Collar Jobs Not to Turn Your Nose Up At

If you’re a white-collar worker, that is, someone whose job isn’t manual, for example, an office worker, then odds are that’s your strict preference when looking for a job. Good luck to you if you can find what you’re looking for and not have to suffer the doldrums of a long job search. For those who can’t find what they need—or who haven’t gone to what Joe Lamacchia, author of “Blue Collar and Proud of It,” calls “grade thirteen,” aka college—and are fed up with looking and coming up dry, there’s an alternative. It’s called blue-collar work, that is, manual work.

A grievance that many white-collar workers share is that if they go for that kind of work, which they may perceive as only being for unskilled or semiskilled people (something that’s not true since apprenticeships or several years of on-the-job training may be required to learn to operate equipment for some jobs), then they won’t be able to make a great living. However, in this day and age, nothing could be further from the truth. Jobs such as trucking jobs can be tickets to lifestyles that even a white-collar paycheck couldn’t afford. Moreover, with so many people chasing the same so-called professional jobs, that leaves a lot of manual job opportunities available for those willing to break out of their career comfort crises.

Here are a few blue-collar jobs that you really shouldn’t even think about turning your nose up at.

1. Truck driver. Contrary to popular opinion, truck drivers can make great money, and there are all different kinds of trucks you can drive; for example, you can make a pretty penny as a flatbed trucker. You certainly wouldn’t be alone out there. Truck driving is a profession that’s filled by a very large number of the population. If you don’t mind your own company, since you’ll be spending tons of time by yourself, then consider trucking as either a short-term or a long-term job solution.
2. Subway or streetcar operator. “Stand clear of the closing doors, please.” If that’s something you can get used to saying, then there’s a high-paying job waiting for you as a subway operator. In some cities, subway and streetcar operators earn well north of $50,000 a year. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Moreover, the growth prospects for subway and streetcar operators look good for this category of profession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3. There’s always a clogged drain somewhere, and when people need it to be fixed, it’s the plumber to the rescue. Forget store-bought containers of pipe draining solutions that usually don’t do the job or can’t resolve bigger issues that may need a professional’s expertise. The plumber is the expert who’s called upon time and again, and they’re paid well for their services. It’s not uncommon to even hear that some plumbers charge $150 an hour or more for their services on websites such as TaskRabbit, where people can find workers with these labor skills for hire.
4. Construction manager. You might call construction managers real captains of their industry. They are the ones looked to for direction on construction sites, providing critical supervision that ensures worker safety and on-time project completion. For their “troubles,” they take home a salary approaching $100,000 a year, and those with many years of experience earn approximately $150,000 a year.
5. A quarter of a million new job openings are expected for electricians by 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates. That’s quite a shocking number, and unless you want to run the risk of being shocked to death literally, you’ll do what every smart person does when faced with an electrical wiring issue and related problems: call an electrician. Alternatively, you can become an electrician yourself, with proper training, and join the $80,000 and up club of top-earning electricians.
6. Dog walker. You’d be forgiven for doing a double take at seeing “dog walker.” But yes, laugh if you want, but there are some dog walkers out there making more money seeing that Fido stays regular and is comfortable than what a lot of executives in corner offices make. The founder of one dog-walking business claims to even earn $110,000 a year—part time.

Plenty of high-paying blue-collar jobs are around for consideration. Why not investigate some of these opportunities? Who knows, one of these occupations might turn