If the West is serious about friendshoring, many more will need to carry out manual work — albeit aided by robots. And yes, that means university graduates.
    • Jarmo@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      1 year ago

      Factory jobs do pay living wages. I worked at a Fortune 500 factory in rural AL and the entry level jobs (running the street sweeper inside the factory) started at $28/hr. Operators that took OT would make over $100k/yr. The operators that worked there 20+ years made more money than I did as an engineer.

      I’ve worked in factories in California, Ohio, Alabama, and my peers have worked all over (different companies). Factory jobs pay very decent and often have a hard time finding employees.

      • JillyB@beehaw.orgEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Thanks for the injection of reason. I work as an engineer in a manufacturing plant. We’re short-staffed with a high turnover. However that’s because of the hours, not the pay. This thread is filled with people who think factory workers are manual-labor oppressed people with no upward mobility. It’s borderline classist. Factory jobs aren’t inherently bad or unhealthy.

        • alongwaysgone@beehaw.orgEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          Exactly. It’s the hours that suck, depending on shift. Do you forever want to live life in 3rd shift? If you have kids, you’ll rarely see them… You’ll be asleep when they’re awake and at work when they are.

          It’s just not ideal for most people.

        • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.caEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          I think most people still visualize these roles as we see them on TV where its a person in all white scrubs screwing in 4 things before passing it down the line for 12 hours per day.

          The factories that can actually be profitable in North America need massive automation in order to function and most of the jobs are far more complex than we think. CNC operators, forklift operators, etc.

  • worfamerryman@beehaw.org
    0·
    1 year ago

    I make decent money working freelance from home.

    I might consider working in a factory if they payed me like 150,000 a year and offered on the job training and promotions and pay raises yearly that beat inflation.

    I don’t make anywhere close to 150,000, but I’m not willing to drive to a factory, work in a place that may be bad for my health, and give up the experience I’m gaining each day in my current field of work.

      • worfamerryman@beehaw.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        Not worth it, it’s more than I’m earning now, but then you have to figure in the commute and the hour lunch break that I have to be there for but not get paid for.

        It’s a tough sell.