I'm 66 and my grandson asked me what I did for a living and when I said "I was an electrician" he said "oh" - and that single syllable taught me more about how the world sees blue-collar work than forty years of doing it ever did - Silicon Canals

"Everything in your life that plugs into a wall only works because someone like me made it work. Your morning coffee, your computer, your phone charger, the lights you flip on without thinking. All of it. But we don't see electricians as essential. We see them as the people you call when something breaks. The people who show up in work boots and leave dirt on your floor."

"That's the thing about blue-collar work. When we do it right, nobody notices. The lights turn on, the heat works, the water flows. It's only when something goes wrong that people remember we exist. We'd just made her hundred-year-old house safe for her family, and we were an inconvenience."

A retired electrician reflects on his grandson's dismissive reaction to learning about his forty-year career, recognizing it as symptomatic of broader societal undervaluation of skilled trades. The electrician describes how essential infrastructure work—electrical systems, plumbing, heating—remains invisible when functioning properly and only becomes noticed when problems arise. Despite decades of keeping communities operational and safe, tradespeople are often treated as inconveniences rather than valued professionals. The narrative highlights a cultural shift where college-educated careers like medicine, law, and technology entrepreneurship receive prestige while hands-on skilled work is overlooked, despite being fundamental to modern society's functioning.

Read at Silicon Canals