Many of us are old enough to remember our parents urging us to get good grades in high school so we could go on to college. That four-year college degree was the one thing that so many of those parents were not able to achieve themselves, and saw it as the pinnacle of success, and wanted it for their kids. They feared that if we didn't have that degree, others would not deem us successful. Handed-down Depression-era stories also made that a very real fear. But now, with things like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and increased trade school enrollment, getting your hands dirty doesn't seem like such a bad thing.
BEAUMONT, Texas — Blue-collar jobs are in high demand across Southeast Texas, with employers saying they cannot hire workers fast enough to fill open positions in skilled trades that support the region’s refineries, plants and ports.
— TheTexasOne (@TexasRepublic71) January 16, 2026
Southeast Texas is home to major industrial…
Southeast Texas is home to major industrial operations that rely heavily on blue-collar workers. At a recent Workforce Solutions job fair, employers said they are urgently looking to fill openings as demand for skilled labor continues to grow.
On Tuesday, a new Harris Poll, commissioned by the Business for Good Foundation, showed that 78 percent of Americans agreed with the statement that the "stigma" around blue-collar work is decreasing, and that there is more of a desire for "hands-on skills and practical experience matter more than formal degrees when it comes to career success." Respondents also said that what they would consider a "good" job today would not have been the same as even five years ago.
Ed Mitzen, the Business for Good Foundation co-founder, said this about the 2026 version of the American dream,
You’ve got a lot of people that have historically [not thought] the American dream was for them. I would argue that it isn’t broken, it’s just moved, and it’s moved to places we stop looking.
A buddy from college reached out
— Barbell Financial 💪🏻💰 (@BarbellFi) November 17, 2025
Got laid off as a manager at Meta
Made $280k & can’t land a new job
His mortgage is over $6k/month
Said he runs out of money in 3 months
Has a wife & 2 young kids
He’s usually cocky but sounded scared
You never think it’ll happen to you 😔
The elite mocked the blue collar employees when manufacturing went overseas in the 70s. They simply said, “find a new skill.” Now the circle has completed. Blue collar jobs are in demand and artificial intelligence is taking white collar jobs. My advice is to learn a trade.
— B. Franklin (@Bold_4_Truth) January 23, 2026
The ever-increasing encroachment of AI into the everyday lives of Americans was not lost on respondents as well. Of those polled, 76 percent said they agreed with the statement that “jobs that rely on hands-on experience are less likely to be replaced by” AI.
The poll may be an insight into how Americans are viewing that traditional four-year degree. There are countless stories of college students graduating but not being able to read or write. Those same colleges and universities are now having to offer remedial reading and math classes. Students who graduate and manage to find a job in their chosen field are strapped with an average debt of $39,075. And what those students are learning is plenty of left-wing indoctrination. With results like that, it's easy to see why blue-collar jobs are gaining respect.
The efforts of guys like Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe may be paying off as well. Rowe has been an advocate of President Trump shifting billions of dollars in federal grants that schools like Harvard receive and shifting them to trade schools. Combine all of this with the fact that Gen Zers are figuring out that learning a trade is indeed the job security needed to combat AI, which will save them from going thousands of dollars in debt and make them good money.
Blue-collar workers make up roughly 27 percent of the American workforce. New-found respect for those jobs is also largely due to the efforts of President Trump to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. As of September of 2025, blue-collar wages were up 1.4 percent in the first seven months of his second term.
Are the days when jobs like plumbing, HVAC, or construction work were looked down upon gone? Probably not. There will always be degree snobs. But who will those snobs call when their air conditioner goes out in July?
One point that often gets overlooked is that thousands within the community work everyday blue-collar jobs—management roles, warehouse work, bus drivers, sales, and more. In every sense of the phrase, they are “hard-working Americans.”
— Mike Gee (@MikeGeeNY00) February 1, 2026
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