stupidpol

https://redlib.catsarch.com/r/stupidpol/comments/1rvq8b6/white_collaroffice_people_going_around_saying_how/

There's an insecure narrative going around from white-collar/office people on Reddit where they claim that they could turn on a dime and easily thrive in the trades if AI wiped out their industry. These people literally believe that their superior intellect alone would allow them to dominate, and they also think you're crazy for believing that the physical aspect of the trades would be difficult for them.

Their overall impression of what it takes to do a trade is probably a combination of watching DIY videos on Youtube that show you how to make easy home repairs under perfect circumstances and the observation that "guys are always just standing around" when they drive by a roadwork crew (and it's probably the foreman and supervisor).

In fairness, I think there are probably a lot of white-collar people who could survive in the trades, but very few would actually thrive. There’s a difference between being technically capable of doing a skilled trade, and actually having the determination required to push through 5+ years of being the low man, doing all the shitty work, fixing your own inexperienced fuck ups, and learning to deal with all the fucked up and occasionally dangerous people. All for lousy pay until you work your way up.

Another point- To whatever extent some people may think it's not that common, there's still a significant cohort of higher-IQ people who work in the trades. How many of them do you honestly expect to hear in year three talking about how easy it is, mentally and physically, and how they already have it mastered?

In conclusion, I think there are a lot of white-collar people who would simply not be up for the work, no matter what. Many others could survive if they had to, but would be absolutely miserable and wouldn't thrive at all. Maybe 15% of the ones that tried it would thrive, if that.