Buretmike here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.

Well in America there's an assumption that the most meaningful careers are found in office

buildings among those taking part in the information economy rather than the nitty gritty

of blue collar trades and to be eligible for these desirable white collar jobs you need

to take out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans so you can go to college

for four years to get a degree.

The sacrifice is always worth it though or so we're told.

My guest today on the show has made a career of questioning the narrative.

In fact he argues that our obsession with college education and white collar work to the

integration of blue collar kind has left us economically and spiritually poorer both

on the individual and national level.

His name is Mike Row.

You might have seen his popular show Dirty Jobs.

Since his time as a TV host he's become an ardent advocate of trade work through his

foundation Mike Row works.

Today on the show Mike and I discuss where the idea of Dirty Jobs came from and why the

show about blue collar workers became a surprise national hit.

We then explore why we devalue blue collar work, the societal and individual consequences

of that devaluation and what Mike is doing to make pursuing vocational and trade work

cool and viable again.

If you're a young man trying to figure out if college and an office job is right for you

or if you're a guy and a dead end office job looking for an alternative Mike is going

...