Misconception #67: Skilled and unskilled work should be defined by their schooling requirements

Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.

---

A lot of people like to talk about the differences between skilled and unskilled labor. The general argument has been that we need more college graduates to fill jobs that qualify as skilled labor. Of course, that only makes sense if you allow the colleges to define what qualifies as skilled labor

In reality, even so-called unskilled labor has legitimate skill requirements. For example, manual labor is generally considered unskilled even though people pursuing these jobs need to be skilled with their hands.

The truth is that where you obtain skills and what kinds of skills they are should not set the line between skilled and unskilled labor. If someone has strong skills that were established outside of a schooling environment, that doesn't mean that he is unskilled. If someone enters a job requiring college while lacking in practical skills, he should not automatically be labeled as skilled.

Ultimately, all of this is one big PR move. Nobody likes to think of themselves as unskilled, so people are more likely to embrace the path to perceived skill. This flawed classification makes the colleges look better than they really are.

I wanted to say one last thing before moving on. Teachers are consistently viewed as skilled labor. Considering they frequently blame paying customers, taxpaying parents, they clearly lack customer service skills. These are the same skills that fast food and retail workers, people who are generally portrayed as the weakest in terms of skill, are required to possess. It has become very clear to me that teachers lack the skills required for unskilled labor.