As worries about artificial intelligence and high-profile layoffs shake the white-collar world, some Americans are looking to blue-collar work for more stability.
Doug, a skilled tradesman in his late 30s, knows that experience well.
Doug — whose last name and employment are known to Insider but withheld over his fear of professional repercussions — was finishing up college when the Great Recession hit and "the bottom fell out of the market," he said.
"I was trying to save up money to go to law school," he said. "When that happened, it was really just jarring how quickly so many people were losing their jobs." He called it a bloodbath.
It's an experience that might be hitting home for some workers feeling whiplash from seeing the "Great Resignation" and rising wages turn into high-profile layoffs and threats of an AI takeover. Blue-collar work remains a bright spot in the economic recovery, with plenty of available jobs, affordable training, more stability, and high pay. And, as some people continue their pandemic reckoning with what work means to them, it might become even more appealing.
Doug, for instance, found his new career lucrative compared with the hourly work he did to pay his way...
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