mikeroweWORKS.com

Everyone who knows me knows I'm a fan of Dirty Jobs, and a lot of other shows on the Discovery Channel.  I've had conversations with many of you about mikeroweWORKS and the necessity and value of the skilled trades.

I am so happy to let all of my friends know that the new mikeroweWORKS.com is up and running.  As the sign says "under construction/never finished", but there is a lot of it that is done.  If you make it through to the "State Specific Resources", and go to Nebraska, you'll find my meager contributions to the site.  Also, if you go to the "Contributors" section of the scrap yard, you'll see "Nebraska Outback" proudly listed on one of the bricks.

Just so you don't have to spend a lot of time figuring out what mikeroweWORKS is all about, here's some info from the boss himself:

The traditional notions of Hard Work are under siege.  Hollywood gives us one-dimensional stereotypes and American Idols.  Madison Avenue tells us every few minutes that happiness and leisure go hand in hand.  And Silicon Valley has provided a shiny new toolbox that has no need for shovels or hammers.  As manufacturing jobs vanish into thin air, we tell our kids that the toll on the road to prosperity is nothing short of a four-year degree, and now, we've become so accustomed to seeing manual labor portrayed as drudgery, that the sight of people working their butts off while actually enjoying themselves is almost confusing.  Unfortunately, in redefining the meaning of a "good job," we've simultaneously marginalized the very occupations that make polite society possible and the fallout from this nonsense is serious.

Trade school enrollments are chronically down.  Our infrastructure is crumbling around us.  Welders, carpenters, pipe fitters, plumbers, steamfitters, and concrete workers are all in short supply, in spite of the fact that these occupations are no less critical today than they were fifty years ago.  In fact, if rebuilding our infrastructure becomes a true priority, skilled labor will become more important than ever, and our society's collective attitude toward dirty work will simply have to change.

mikeroweWORKS.com celebrates the skilled trades and offers resources such as links to education, trade organizations, job sites, and general encouragement for those with or thinking about "dirty jobs."

The new website is much more entertaining than a black and white type on a page, so I encourage you to go there, poke around, watch some of the videos, and get ready... to get dirty.

Thanks for stopping by.  The coffee's always on.