Mike Rowe: Learning From Dirty Jobs

Is there any job that you could not be paid enough to do? “Mike Rowe: Learning from Dirty Jobs” shows that some will do anything to make a living. These strange, disgusting, and messy occupational duties are performed by the typical employee everyday. According to Robert Reich, American jobs are returning and the pay to employees has increased due to the expense of everyday living (404). “Dirty” jobs are causing mental and emotional stress that are leading to people not applying for blue collar jobs. For many years people all over the world have performed “dirty jobs” however, it has not always been noticed. Most are oblivious to what goes on in the world today and what went on before the increase of technology. For example, most people

The main issue that he addresses is money, money is not everything to everyone. Especially for the “lower class” who work long miserable hours doing America’s dirty and unfavorable jobs. The experience that Rowe talks about in the video deals with the castration of lambs on a sheep herding farm. Before going to the farm he did research of how to properly castrate a lamb. The proper way is to attach a thick rubber band to the lambs testicles. This constricts the blood flow and in a week or so the parts fall off. However, the lead sheep herder approaches the lamb and takes a knife from his pocket instead of a rubber band. He then cuts off the tail and then cuts and rips out the testicles. Rowe is in complete shock and does not understand why he must do it this way, so the herder uses a rubber band on the next lamb. Taking only a few steps out of the chute the lamb falls down then gets back up and limps to a corner. The first lamb that had been cut with the knife had already stopped bleeding and was acting as if nothing happened. So, what may seem like the most humane way to people, may not be the best way for the animals. This is just one of the many examples of jobs that Americans take on daily. The workers that take on the task of “dirty jobs” get paid a fair amount, but it is nothing spectacular. It is their love for the job that keeps people interested in their career that may not be pleasing to others.

For example, when “Henry Ford released that he was paying workers on his Model T assembly line $5 a day, this was three times what the typical factory employee earned at this time (Reich, 2016, 404).” Now, the cost is around $14 because the cost of living has increased due to the new inventions being made. But, it is less than in 2002 when they were getting paid $25 an hour. Since the jobs and pay have fluctuated greatly over the years people are now just accepting lower wages and benefits. Reich uses compare and contrast to show what wages were then and now. He also uses it to explain the difference in