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Comment by Aloisius | Hacker News Reader

Unskilled labor simply refers to jobs where any specialized skills required can be learned on the job in a short period of time, usually less than 30 days.

It doesn't literally mean the workers don't know how to do anything. It's certainly not a myth - it's a classification of work, at least in the US.

https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/416/416-0968.htm

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> Unskilled labor simply refers to jobs where any specialized skills required can be learned on the job in a short period of time, usually less than 30 days.

This is nearly all jobs.

> This is nearly all jobs.

All unskilled labor jobs.

You're not going to learn welding in 30 days. Nor are you going to learn how to design a bridge. Or program in C++. Or diagnose a patient. Or be a lawyer. Or drive a race car. Etc.

I didn't say all jobs, did I? You successfully listed (some) jobs that might take longer than 30 days to learn.

The thing about "unskilled" jobs, everyone seems to look down their noses at, is that they facilite the people doing the lofty jobs of: lawyer, doctor, c++ programmer, etc. Without them getting done for you you couldn't do what you're doing.

Can the brickie work without their "unskilled" laborer? Sure, but good luck getting you house built in a reasonable time.

I don't understand your point. Yes, there's a lot of unskilled jobs, possibly a majority of jobs. Far from everyone looks down on unskilled jobs, and nobody is saying they're not important.

Bricklayer work isn't classified as unskilled labor nor are masonry helpers.

Neither are jobs like carpenters, roofers, pipelayers, cooks, truck drivers, clerks and many, many others.

I never said any of those were...

What unskilled labor were you referring to a brickie using then?

The brickie's "laborer", I literally said it in the post you replied to; the person who moves bricks, makes up the muck, generally keeps the brickie supplied with materials.

I agree they are necessary, otherwise they wouldn't be employed. It's just that they are not skilled labor.

There is nothing wrong with honest work - skilled or unskilled.

Indeed, unskilled labor is a large part of the job market.

Credentialism has certainly gone too far in many fields, but I’d still like my doctors, lawyers, and engineers to have more than 30 days of training in their field.

Yeah, my point wasn't that every job can be learned in 30 days, just a good proportion, most, jobs can be.

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