By Kayla DeKraker
Nearly 20 years after its debut, DIRTY JOBS and the principles its host Mike Rowe highlighted still apply today. The most important? The value of hard work and the abundance of opportunities.
“…There are currently 7.2 million men of prime working age who are not only not working, but they’re affirmatively not looking for work. That’s never happened before. Not in peacetime, anyway,” Rowe recently told the Brunswick Review.
“Of greater concern, is the way these 7.2 million men are spending their idle time,” he continued. “According to several years of in-depth research and surveys, these men are NOT volunteering at their local church or engaged with any civic or community pursuits.”
Instead, they’re wasting their lives staring at screens and scrolling social media.
But opportunities abound for those willing to work.
“7.6 million good jobs are wide open — most of which don’t require a four-year degree, and many of which are in manufacturing and the skilled trades,” Rowe said.
Another part of Rowe’s work is bringing back an appreciation for the “the miracle of electricity or indoor plumbing.” He told the Brunswick Review, “I spend a lot of time talking about ways to foster a heightened appreciation for the skilled trades. But mostly, I’m focused on confronting the myths and misperceptions that surround them.”
He does this by making people aware of just how lucrative these jobs can be.
“We have a whole generation of kids today who simply don’t believe they can make six figures working with their hands. They have no understanding that an independent electrician or plumber today can make $200,000 a year and set their own schedule.”
Rowe believes in skilled labor so much so that he created the mikeroweWORKS foundation, which provides scholarships to those pursuing trade jobs.
“We’re on a mission to help close the skills gap by challenging the stigmas and stereotypes that discourage people from pursuing the millions of available jobs,” the website explains. “We want people to understand the impact of skilled labor on their lives, and we’re convinced that the solution has to start with a new appreciation for hard work.”
To date, the foundation had awarded $11 million in scholarships.
Related: Mike Rowe Awards 200 Scholarships to Vocational School Students
Recently, Rowe began a YouTube series called “People You Should Know” which focuses on “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
“I don’t have a network behind me on this one, or a big production company, so you guys are my marketing and publicity department. No pressure, but the entire endeavor is in your hands,” he quipped on Instagram along with a trailer for the series.
Whether its jobs, people or simply life principles like hard work, Rowe makes his fans aware of the things that often go unrecognized but are so valuable.
Read Next: Dave Ramsey, Mike Rowe Say ‘Work Smart, Not Hard’ is Bad Advice
- Content: +2Share:
- Content: +4