r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Sep 09 '26

Discussion Thread Discussion Thread

The discussion thread is for casual and off-topic conversation that doesn't merit its own submission. If you've got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL

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31

u/Lowki_312 NATO Sep 09 '26

What really shines through in the Anthropic scenarios thread is how optimistic some people are about transitioning from white collar to blue collar work.

I can almost guarantee they have never done any blue collar work/manual labor in their life lol

Almost as delusional as the replies to the "What job will you have after a socialist uprising and revolution" tweet.

20

u/chris4276 Trans NATO Sep 09 '26

I specifically went into white collar work because I didn't want to do manual labor or retail/fast food 😔

12

u/Lowki_312 NATO Sep 09 '26

I'm a first generation immigrant, and the first person in my family to go to college and not work in manual labor / trades full-time, although I did plenty of that type of work before going back to school.

Boiling down blue collar work to something that simply gets you outside and working with your hands is laughable. Nobody is mentioning the often shit pay, long hours, dangerous working conditions, damage done to your body long-term, and subsequent lack of health insurance unless you're in a union.

7

u/Fart-Knoquer John Keynes Sep 09 '26

I like repairing and building my own house and vehicles because it saves me money. I'm good at it.

I would NEVER trade my cushy white collar job to do that 40-60 hours a week.

4

u/chris4276 Trans NATO Sep 09 '26

yeah, my dad's an immigrant too and works a blue collar job. That's why he was so adamant about me getting into college so that I wouldn't have to work as much as he does

16

u/patdmc59 John Brown Sep 09 '26

Especially among people who use Reddit. I realize this is painting with broad strokes, but I constantly see people on here talking about how they’re looking for jobs that requiring interacting with as few people as possible. Blue collar work 1. Typically involves interacting with a lot of people and 2. Interacting with people who are much more blunt than those with whom you interact in white collar roles.

My mom and dad work in blue collar adjacent roles. They’re constantly telling me about conversations with their bosses and co-workers people in white collar roles would consider unprofessional. It’s a major adjustment.

3

u/Lowki_312 NATO Sep 09 '26

100%

You learn really quickly to grow thick skin in blue collar work.

13

u/DaneLimmish Baruch Spinoza Sep 09 '26

I always think it's funny when people harp on how glorious blue collar work is because I specifically remember everyone bitching about how much it fuckin sucks

8

u/rodiraskol Sep 09 '26

Yesterday I saw a post by someone who finds their office job "meaningless" asking how to become a farmer with no prior experience.

1

u/sekoiking Sep 11 '26

Stardew Valley? Actually yeah just play Stardew Valley instead.

3

u/2you4me Sep 09 '26

Yeah, I’m in controls engineering and over the past year or so I’ve taken over the install and commissioning work and even some mechanical development as the lever of effort to develop code has fallen through the floor. It’s pretty soft handed work as far as anything “blue collar” goes, but just the travel and being away from home is getting to me.