While I generally agree with those who say it's a sound personal and professional lifetime investment to earn a college degree, I also can't help but notice how many of the more relevant and enduring jobs today require as much or more physical energy and commitment as they do a laudable grade point.
The respected human resources software company CareerBuilder and its subsidiary Emsi have identified a dozen of the "everyday hero" U.S. occupations and generally how much someone in that job can expect to earn. I don't see a ton of white collars or glamour on the list.
Yet there's clearly potential in these backbone-of-America jobs that could provide personal satisfaction and sense of purpose for Arkansas high school seniors and others. Some positions could be filled with a diploma from a good technical school.
At the top are farmers, ranchers and agriculture managers. I'd expect that. Seems pretty obvious, considering we've all got to eat. There is one farmer for every 654 Americans, working for an annual median income of $30,597. Sure sounds low to me.
Listed second are water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators. We've gotta have water too. Moving, cleansing, organizing, and testing of our vital water supplies is a constant job. There's one such operator for every 2,856 people. They earn a median income of $45,968.
There are more than four million K-12 (including special education) teachers in our nation, or about one for every 80 people. The median salary is $55,557. I don't need to elaborate on all these indispensable folks contribute.
Construction laborers, hardly a field requiring higher education above a strong back, common sense and an intuitive understanding of how things are built, earn median compensation of $31,658. That also seems far less than they're worth when we survey everything from our homes to businesses, highways, bridges and on and on. With over 1.3 million of them at work in the U.S., there is one for every 242 people.
Electrical and telecommunications line installers and repairers earn a median income of $60,965 (and I'm betting that's only going to increase). There are about 239,000 of them today, or one for every 1,355 of us. Try to visualize in today's society managing without these people making sure the power, our cable and cell phones stay on. I just tried. Nope, can't imagine it.
When I was a kid we called them our garbage men. Today, the 134,250 "Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors" of America, one for every 2,412 people, earn a median income of $34,258. Since it's estimated each of us discards an average of five pounds of trash each day, I'd say we also had better show appreciation for these people.
Police and sheriff's patrol offices are more in need than ever of honest, capable people with a desire to serve society in an honorable, respected way. Right now the U.S. has 635,939 officers earning a median income of $60,466. That amounts to one officer for every 479 of us. Try to picture our lives without the thin blue line between us and the ever-increasing lawlessness.
Firefighters earn a median salary of $48,859. There are 314,928 firefighters (or 1 for every 1,028 people). The National Fire Protection Association explains they are necessary because America lost over $11 billion in fire destruction during 2014 alone, along with 3,275 lives.
EMTs, paramedics and ambulance drivers earn a median of $32,510, and there are 266,853 of them across the country. That amounts to one for every 1,214 people. Never are these folks more appreciated than when they show up with their knowledge and lifesaving equipment at your own house.
Registered nurses, all 2,870,340 million of them at the time the survey was conducted, earn a median income just over $69,000. For every 113 of us, there exists one RN. These dedicated people, who must have higher degrees, are literally the lifeblood of any medical community.
Military occupations, with some 2,098,652 in uniform, earn a median of $35,194 each year. The U.S. military professionally trains enough in their various specialties to care for our safety if needed. Seems a bit redundant to add--and oh yeah, by the way--they fight our wars and keep us safe in that way too.
The 1.9 million (one for every 168 people) heavy- and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn an annual median income of about $39,000. And lest you mistakenly believe we can take or leave them, just travel along our state's congested interstates for a spell.
Semis are continually delivering everything we need to run our homes and country. Without them, we stagnate. Study the ads on billboards and in the media to realize how desperately drivers are needed. Yet again, no higher education required, mostly dedication, a clean driving record and the ability to skillfully operate big trucks.
Two important jobs making my personal list are vehicle and airline mechanics, along with movie-theater employees who know how to properly pack a refillable tub with hot-buttered popcorn.
------------v------------
Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.
Editorial on 09/17/2016