WEBVTT - Are We Still Building? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:05.399 Wind Down with Janet Kramer, an I'm Heeart radio podcast. 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:08.960 I want to introduce you to On the Job and 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:12.520 host Avery Thompson. Avery shares stories of people making changes 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.240 in their professional and personal lives. Whether it's a successful 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:18.119 athlete transitioning into a new career off the field, a 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:20.800 fly fishing tour guide trying to introduce a new segment 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:23.279 of folks to the joys of the outdoors, or a 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:25.759 stadium beer and hot dog hawker who doubles as a 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.159 CEO of a red hot startup. We'll find out what 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:31.440 drives them and what lies ahead. These are heartfelt stories 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:34.040 of people finding their lives. Work on the Job is 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:37.479 brought to you by Express Employment Professionals. This week, Avery 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.040 talks to a former carpenter who is now a fellow 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:40.760 at Harvard. 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.159 Welcome to On the Job. It's hard to believe it 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:48.960 that this is now our eighth season. We've got a 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:52.440 lot of great stories coming your way. If you're not 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.120 sure how to feel about the economy these days, you're 0:00:55.120 --> 0:01:00.320 not alone. It's an admittedly confusing time right now to 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.959 make sense of what's going on out there. I gave 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.440 a call up to Boston, Massachusetts to speak with author, 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:12.000 labor historian, and fellow at Harvard Law mark Erlin Mark Earley, 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:15.319 thank you for being on the podcast. Let's jump right 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.399 into it. How's it looking out there to you? 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:22.399 Well, I actually think it's looking quite good. You know, 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:26.119 there's the issue of perception and reality and how it's 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:29.800 perceived politically. But the reality is that the job market 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.959 keeps climbing, that we have come out of the pandemic 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:36.840 better than really any other country in the world, and 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.479 I think there are a lot of opportunities. I would 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:42.920 say that to the degree that what our future holds 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:46.240 in some ways is dependent on the election in November 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:49.960 and whether the current trends continue or whether there's a 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:54.600 sharp turn to a different set of politics and economics. 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.800 As Mark told me, there's only so much crystal ballgazing 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:02.760 one can do. As a historian. He knows that unforeseen 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:09.120 surprises are both unpredictable and inevitable. However, there is one 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:12.400 thing that we can all see coming our way, and 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:13.120 that's AI. 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:16.720 I think for the majority of jobs, I don't think 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:19.040 in the short term is going to be much of 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.800 an impact one way or another. I think twenty five, thirty, 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:27.120 fifty years out. The impact of AI is probably going 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:30.720 to be incomprehensible in many ways. 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.760 And at least for now, it seems unlikely that AI 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:36.760 will be able to replace a plumber or an electrician 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:40.919 anytime soon, which is a great thing because those types 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.840 of jobs, the sort of skilled trade jobs, are having 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:50.280 quite a resurgence these days. And Mark, a former carpenter himself, says, 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:53.920 not only are those jobs quite plentiful these days, they're 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.600 also finally getting the respect they deserve. 0:02:57.320 --> 0:03:01.239 Yeah, I think that's been an interesting process. I think 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:06.560 that's for two reasons. One is that guidance counselors and 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:12.520 high schools and sort of families works kept saying college, college, college, college. 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:14.240 You got to go to college if you're going to 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:17.400 have a secure living, And what happened when you graduated 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.560 you had a pile of student debt and you were 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:23.560 a barista or an uber driver. On the other hand, 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.200 if you do blue collar work, if you frankly, if 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:30.920 you go say through an apprenticeship program, you are earning 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:34.800 while you learn. There is no debt. You're learning a skill. 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.120 In four years and you've become a licensed electrician or 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:42.200 you become a master carpenter, or whatever, and the occupation 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.600 may be, and you have been you've been making money 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:50.360 that entire time, and you're well on your way towards, 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:53.480 you know, having a secure livelihood. I think for too 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:56.560 long we devalue that kind of work in the society. 0:03:56.600 --> 0:04:00.000 And I'm glad to see, like the enrollment of vocationals 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.560 schools is increasing all over the country, and that seems 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:05.280 to me kind of like one hundred and eighty degree 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:07.160 shift from say even twenty years ago. 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:12.200 With soaring enrollment in technical and vocational schools and a 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.920 strong jobs market in the blue collar sector. Some have 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:20.760 even started calling gen Z the tool belt generation. And 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:24.719 as public opinion of the trades continues to change, so 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:26.640 too are the people drawn to them. 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:30.600 You're seeing women in the trades being elevated to leadership 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:34.039 positions in the industry. It's a very healthy thing, very 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:34.440 good thing. 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:38.520 And a similar trend is happening with foreign born Americans. 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.359 My parents are immigrants. I'm a big support of immigration. 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:46.200 I think this country was built on immigrant labor. And 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:50.320 the only difference now is that instead of being folks 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.840 from Southern Europe or Eastern Europe or wherever, they're coming from, 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.919 Central and South America as well as other parts of 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:57.440 the world. 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:00.280 Hopefully, in a few years we'll have a lot more 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:04.160 men and women driving their children around and pointing and saying, 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:08.280 you see that, kids, I built that for On the job, 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:09.880 I'm Avery Thompson. 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:14.440 Looking for a job is lonely, endless searching, phone calls 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:15.640 that go nowhere. 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:17.960 Applications that vanish into thin air. 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:20.920 What if you could link with dozens of local companies 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:25.440 who are hiring right now with just one connection. That's 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:27.520 Express Employment Professionals. 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:32.600 Find us at expresspros dot com. One connection, endless opportunities 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:37.720 and no fees ever for job seekers Express Employment Professionals 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:46.240 expresspros dot com.