Patterson 1

Kathryn Patterson

Jennifer Hughes

01 March 2017

Essay 2

Blue-Collar Brilliance

Do people feel less of a person because of their job? Do people ever feel that others look

down upon them because they have a blue-collar job? Well no need to anymore. People with

blue-collar jobs carry the rest of the world of workers on their shoulders. Just because you serve

other people instead of being the head of a large company does not mean you are less of a person

or not as important as the people you serve. If people make the best of their work then others

will see that. If people do not believe in themselves and their job and that what they are doing is

important then no one else will either.

Mike Rose wrote an article called Blue-Collar Brilliance and in this article he wrote

about what was observed in restaurants defined the world of adults, a place where competence

was synonymous with physical work. Ive since studied the working habits of blue-collar

workers and have come to understand how much my mothers kind of work demands of both

body and brain (Rose 245). Rose had a mother that was a server named Rosie and she loved her

job because she enjoyed the psychology involved in it. She had the mind set of doing a good job

and everyone around her could see that so they had a wonderful time. Servers tip amounts

depend on how well they respond to a customers needs so they learn to read people. When you

are a server for a long time you can become good at reading the emotional and psychological

needs of your tables and customers. Rosie studied human behavior in her restaurant puzzling
 Patterson 2

over the problems of her regular customers and refining her ability to deal with people in a

difficult work. She took pride in being among the public, shed say. There isnt a day that goes

by in the restaurant that you dont learn something (Rose 246). Back in the day there were

people that had to quit high school and work in blue-collar environments in order to care for their

families. Now there is less need for that but it does not mean the blue-collar workers are any

different than they were. Intelligence is closely associated with formal educationsthe type of

schooling a person has, how much and how longand most people seem to move comfortably

from that notion to a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence (Rose

247). But that is not always the case. Yes that is what society has drilled into our brains but that

does not mean it is correct. People do not always have a choice in whether or not they can

continue their education, sometimes family has to come first. So people like Rosie, and many

others became servers and they got to learn from experience about the psychology behind human

behavior and watching people. Yes learning is great but so is hands on experience. Education

is not the only form of intelligence.

Blue-collar jobs demand both the body and brain. In Mike Roses uncles job it was like

schooling, a place where youre constantly learning (248). Joe, and other blue-collar workers

like him, Learned the most efficient way to use his body by acquiring a set of routines that were

quick and preserved energy. Otherwise he would never have survived on the line (Rose 248).

They have to learn how to handle multiple situations all while keeping a cool head. Problem

solving has always been done. As far back as discovering a solution to seeing in the dark by

creating light and we are always coming up with better ways. There are problem solving skills in

every person. It can be as small as changing a light bulb to something as big as taking your first

steps as a baby to solve the problem of not being able to get around. Everyone is always coming
 Patterson 3

up with better ways to do something. You do not need a degree so started walking or to change a

light bulb; maybe some guidance encouragement but not schooling. Once you change a light

bulb once or twice in your home you start to become an expert at it because of the experience

you have. Same with walking, once you start typically you do not ever stop and pretty soon you

start running and jumping and you only get better and better. Blue-collar workers like Joe

lacked the formal knowledge of how the machines under his supervision worked, but he had

direct experience with them, hands-on knowledge, and was savvy about quirks and operational

capabilities. He could experiment with them (Rose 248). A person does not need an eight year

degree to produce a solution to a problem. Although it does help to have the education to be able

to learn how something works so that a person can make it better. Knowing the basics of math

are needed in all jobs even the blue-collar jobs. Hair stylists require the knowledge of numbers

and letters because they are combined in a sequence to make up a color of dye for hair.

Carpenters need to know numbers because they need to measure wood and boards. Numbers are

on everything, they are on gauges, measurements of length and temperature, even ingredient

labels. Every single job, blue-collar and white-collar alike, need to know at least the basics of

numbers in order to be successful.

There are many other blue-collar jobs in the world and without them, we would be

nowhere. Without blue-collar there would be no white-collar. Without the servers there would no

restaurants. Without the mechanics there would be no working cars. With no barbers or hair

stylists there would either really long hair everywhere or really terrible haircuts. Without

plumbers there would be no working toilets. You get the idea that blue collars are really carrying

the world on their shoulders. Mike Rose studied blue-collar workers and how their minds work.

He discovered that workers will adapt to their environment and learn how materials in their
 Patterson 4

environment work. They will learn from their mistakes and use that knowledge for any situation

that relates to theirs. Workers will learn to use their senses to help them solve problems as well.

For example; Carpenters have an eye for length, line and angle; mechanics troubleshoot by

listening; hair stylists are attuned to shape, texture and motion (Rose 251).

Mike Rose studied the world of blue-collars workers through watching them work. First

he watched his mom, Rosie, work as a server then his uncle, Joe, as a employee at General

Motors. Rose believes that workers that have a mindset to do their best job will. Blue-collar

jobs like servers are constantly on their feet, always running. They are juggling demands of

several people at once so servers learn to work smart. They handle drink orders, food orders,

returned orders, cleaning tables, carrying multiple plates of food in one hand and two drinks

cradled in the other; all of this while still being able to make conversation with the tables to make

them appreciate you more. Rose did very well in explaining his opinion of the blue-collar

workers and he was able to help convince his audience by using personal experience. A lot of

people start out at least their college experience with a blue-collar job, so many others are able to

relate and agree with his opinion as well, including myself.

I have done a waitressing job before and even though I was only waitressing for a short

amount of time, while I was going to school, it was emotionally and physically draining. There

was a lot of intellectual thinking that had to be done. Servers need to time themselves right to

where they can serve all of their tables in a timely manner. Servers need to know when to take

beverages out and when to bring the food out. They need to make sure they have enough time in

between where they can refill beverages so the guests never going thirsty. They are always on

their feet running back and forth from the kitchen to their many tables. I did not enjoy serving as

much as Rosie seemed to enjoy it so I did not want to stay a waitress for long. I did not need
 Patterson 5

schooling in order to be a waitress so that may make it seem as if it is a low class job. In

reality people make a great living out of blue-collar jobs. Servers can make up to $500 a week or

more if they are really great at it. Sure there is not as much schooling but that does not mean that

they are any less smart or important. They are an excellent group of people who are constantly

serving others rather than bossing everyone else around.

 Patterson 6

Works Cited Page

Rose, Mike. Blue-Collar Brilliance. They say / I say": the moves that matter in academic

writing, with readings. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel K. Durst. New

York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 243-255. Print.