ANSWERS: 17
  • I wondered the same thing. My brother worked as a garbage truck driver for years and did very well for himself. He raised a family, bought a house, and had everything he needed. We never looked down on him, and neither did any of our family.
  • I think there is a stigma attached to it. I come from a long line of garbage men and it didn't always pay good money, it was a poor uneducated mans job.
  • I don't know. There are a lot of jobs like that where people stick their noses up. Little do they know they are very well paying jobs, usually with great benefits! I say hats off to all the laborers out there!!
  • I don't think most people DO look down on them but there definitely are some snobs out there. I think they hate the thought that they've spent a fortune on themselves and/or their kids' education so that maybe they won't have to do what you are doing, but darned if you aren't doing fine without having to go through all that!!
  • Yeah I wonder how many of them snobby types have a song written about them? MY OLD MAN'S A DUSTMAN (Buchanan / Donegan / Thorne) Lonnie Donegan - 1960 Now here's a little story To tell it is a must About an unsung hero That moves away your dust. Some people make a fortune, Others earn a mint; My old man don't earn much: In fact he's flippin' skint. Oh, my old man's a dustman, He wears a dustman's hat, He wears cor-blimey trousers And he lives in a council flat. He looks a proper nana In his great big hobnail boots, He's got such a job to pull them up That he calls 'em daisy roots. Some folks give tips at Christmas, And some of them forget, So when he picks their bins up He spills some on the step. Now one old man got nasty And to the council wrote, Next time my old man went round there He punched him up the throat. Oh my old man's a dustman, He wears a dustman's hat, He wears cor-blimey trousers And he lives in a council flat. Lonnie: I say, I say, Les. Les: Yes? Lonnie: I, er, I found a police dog in my dustbin. Les: Well how do you do know he's a police dog? Lonnie: He had a policeman with him. Though my old man's a dustman, He's got an 'eart of gold, He got married recently Though he's eighty-six years old. We said "'Ere, hang on, Dad, You're getting past your prime"; He said "Well, when you get to my age It helps to pass the time." Oi! My old man's a dustman, He wears a dustman's hat, He wears cor-blimey trousers And he lives in a council flat. Lonnie: I say, I say, I say! Les: Huh? Lonnie: My dustbin's full of lilies. Les: Well throw 'em away then! Lonnie: I can't: Lily's wearing them. Now one day whilst in a hurry, He missed a lady's bin: He hadn't gone but a few yards When she chased after him. "What game do you think you're playing?" She cried right from the 'eart, "You've missed me, am I too late?" "No, jump up on the cart!" Oi! My old man's a dustman, He wears a dustman's hat, He wears cor-blimey trousers And he lives in a council flat. Lonnie: I say, I say, I say! Les: Not you again! Lonnie: My dustbin's absolutely full with toadstools. Les: How do you know it's full? Lonnie: 'Cos there's not mushroom inside. He found a tiger's head one day Nailed to a piece of wood The tiger looked like miserable, But I suppose he should. Just then from out a window A voice began to wail, It said "Oi! Where's me tiger's head?" "Four foot from his tail." Oh my old man's a dustman, He wears a dustman's hat, He wears cor-blimey trousers And he lives in a council flat. Next time you see a dustman Looking all pale and sad, Don't kick him in the dustbin: It might be my old dad.
  • You know that in China the most revered profession is that of a teacher...followed by a farmer......business men are on the very bottom of the list...just an interesting cultural difference.
  • i'm not a lawyer,but i think they make pretty good money and I know they suck.... it's a matter of preceptions, either people don't appreciate what plumber and garbage truck drivers do or can't understand the true value that the add to society(unlike lawyers).
  • It is the blue collar stereotype I suppose. I drive a big rig, locally and get paid hourly, and make good money as well as have a Bachelor's degree and working on my masters, but get looked at like a slob who drives a truck all the time. It is easy to judge someone on the surface, and wearing a suit doesn't automatically make you brilliant and working a job that gets you dirty doesn't mean you are dumb.
  • The Hindu Sastras speak of classes of people. The word Varna written in the Vedas did not mean caste, but later it was transformed into castes. The texts speak of four classes of people in any society: - the Brahmana (teachers, priests), Kshatriya (rulers, administrators of large organizations), Vaishyas (farmers and businessmen) and Sudra (menial workers). The classification was so given that teachers require highest education, some thing like a Ph.D. of our time. Master degree was sufficient for the next class - the administrators. Bachelor degree or School Certificate was sufficient for businessmen. Little or no education was required for menial workers. It is but natural that people look down on the menial workers. The Karma theory states that persons are born into these classes because of their deeds in the past life. The virtue of being born in higher three classes acts sub-consciously to treat the menial workers as inferior.
  • Actually, I feel apologetic, humble and grateful toward garbagemen and plumbers. To them I'm just a pollution producer and sewage maker. Civil society would grind to a halt within days without them, and if their functions suddenly stopped billions of people would die.
  • I just spent a week doing training at our local pipe fitters apprentice school. I wish more young people would get the type of schooling these men and women get. They spend time in the classroom book learning, then go out to the field to put what they learned into action. There's also one other thing they have learned, respect.
  • I guess it is because it is a dirty job, I don't look down on anyone that does any physical labor.We had a guy that got in trouble for drugs at a factory I worked at. Just about everyone laughed at him when he was made to help with the garbage pick up. He decided not to come back to the factory and laughed back when he told how much he was going to make, he was hired full time with the garabge pick up.
  • When I had a cleaning business I worked for 11 doctors and even though I cleaned their toilets they never once treated me as if I was below them. They always invited me to their parties and homes. I was lucky to never have run into people who put me down. I admire people who do whatever it takes to pay the bills and not live off welfare. I made good money to afford to buy the home I have.
  • I'm a union truck driver and I am very proud of my profession. Us union truck drivers here in New York earn about $30.00 per hour or about $75,000 per year. My uncle is a retired sanitation worker for the city of New York and made a very nice living doing so. He owns two houses and a 27ft boat and goes on vacations more than I could count.
  • If you know about plumbers then you know that they call their own shots! Prior to de-unionization plumbers made very good money in union jobs. Now they are self-employed quite often and can refuse to work any job they do not like. They can charge $140.00 an hour in San Mateo, CA. for their work (parts extra). This works out to an approximate gross of $292,000.00 per year. Even if they have an operating ratio of 30% this still works out to $204,400.00! Taxes are a big worry at that pay. But remember they have to know what they are doing (what is worse than a plumber who can't fix pipes?)! It is demanding work and takes years to really now how to do it and only can be learned through actual work experience. Most professionals admire plumbers but they may not tell you that.
  • Because you can see their crack.
  • Because there is a distinct segment of the population that feels better or more important by considering others as being of a lower class than themselves. This has happened all throughout history. Only the so-called "lower classes" have changed. Hope this helps.

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