I have never wanted to move above my station.
Coming from a blue-collar upbringing I appreciated the values my father’s selfless life instilled in me.
I appreciate that many, many people wanted to improve their lot in life. I never had that ambition.
When I studied those who had “moved ahead” what I saw was a hint of falseness, a necessity to fit in, to “better oneself”
Almost as if they were slightly ashamed to come from a working-class background.
No such qualms with me. I am proud to be of working-class stock. To have gotten my hands dirty, to have contributed sweat in an industrialised society.
Maybe my own bias has shaped how I see the world and the classes we are all a part of.
Yes, I have looked down on a whole section of society, those “above me”, many a time, in my mind I would say of those sitting behind a desk, or a counter, “what you do is not real work.”
You do not and have never gotten your hands dirty, you have never sweated or toiled for 10 hours a day, only to collapse from exhaustion when arriving home.
Oh, that sounds a little nasty when I reread it.
But then I am only writing what is inside me. I have no malice to those who strive and have striven to improve their lot in life.
Everyone must do what they see fit to get through life with as little grief as possible.
Yes, my working-class background saw me encounter many pitfalls, almost brought me undone if truth be told.
Would I have wanted an easier life? Sure, but it was never to be. Without the ambition to “move up” I had to make the best of what I had.
Here I am, retired, with no meaningful possessions and debt free.
Life might become a little more trying as I move into my dotage, so be it. It is far too late to change the direction my life’s journey has led me because I am not prepared to put in the work required for such an adventure.
What I have written is something that needed to come out. Why not share it with fellow members?
It might engender introspection in some of you.
I notice a touch of bitterness in your text although you say you’re basically content with you life and wouldn’t have wanted to change it. Why would you evaluate jobs and “look down” on white collar workers thinking their work is no real work which implies that those jobs are superfluous and the world would be a better place if everybody had a manual job?
Why not acknowledge that all jobs are necessary and need to be done by someone? As long as there’s someone who provides paid jobs for people it means there’s a demand for the services offered. The insurance business may serve as one of many examples. Can it be done away with since it’s people behind desks, not sweating, and not getting their hands dirty? What makes you think they lead a better life?
Just my thoughts Dachs, no more.
As written above - I have no malice to those who strive and have striven to improve their lot in life.
I wish no malice on those content to live out their lives with little desire to move on from hard work and, typically, lower paid work. But where is the right, if you chose such a life, to judge or criticise those who work from a desk? Many desk / computer based jobs are more stressful and more demanding than work that involves sweat and dirty hands. That is often why these jobs pay better than manual work.
However, I do think the lack of opportunity and support for those born into such an environment is one of the failings of (certainly in the UK) of recent decades. Social mobility is at its lowest for 70 years. There is nothing in those born into well-off families that means they will inevitably be better bosses, better leaders, more insightful managers. But typically these are the people who get the better education, whose family connections get them into the good careers, who get the guidance / support / insights / confidence to take on those senior roles.
Hi
Bettering yourself by getting a desk job?
Absolute nonsense, I bettered myself by being on the front line.
Yes, I was at times behind a desk, organising things, however when we did things I led from the front.
I even worked nights on my own, recorded on the BBC in a reality programme.
Never ask others to do things you would not do yourself.
I have the scars to prove this.
Oh I can’t agree with this sentiment at all
But then I don’t believe anyone is better than me by who they were born, only by how they behave.
The idea of bowing and curtseying to another human being is abhorrent to me.
I do not think that there has been any claim that work other than manual labour or front line is better or worse. My point is that some who are working “on the front line” might have the potential to perform well in other roles, perhaps more senior roles. Most often with that comes higher levels of pay and reward. That might, in itself, not be bettering oneself (whatever that means) but it certainly would improve other things - less financial constraints, maybe a better house, probably better holidays, certainly better pension on retirement. So if someone has that ability and the desire to take that step then nothing should be stopping them.
Of course, every industry and probably every organisation is different and the group of workers that are front line will look different. Front line in some companies means sat at a desk in front of a computer.
Isn’t life a tad more subtle than that? 
Discretion is one of my favourite words…
I guess you could say I’ve had a bit of a rollercoaster in terms of job and career. I didn’t leave school with very much and fell into my job by sheer luck and coincidence not long after I left school. For many years, I never had ambition as all my efforts were trying to hang onto my job the best I could, which didn’t get off to a great start, not helped by the abuse I was getting at home. After some years, I gradually settled in, but had nothing in terms of ambition. I was happy to muddle on the best I could without bothering about career. Then one day, I had a brainstorm and put myself into college and came out with flying colours, which was when ambition started to take hold and got me my first real promotion and change of job within the same industry, which forced me to put further education aside for a few years until I got promoted again, which gave me the opportunity to dive right back into college and eventually to university. At that point I hit a glass ceiling and my career stalled by several years by favouritism and nepotism. Eventually by chance, I managed to get myself promoted to a senior position. But the job changed and became something I did not sign up for. Further promotion would have meant unacceptable change in Terms and Conditions for what little money was on offer, and would have meant changing my title from Engineer to that of Bean-counter.
I spent many years doing a manual job and then became a staff job with a large manual-working component which was out of my job spec, but had to do due to lack of resource. I never minded working behind the desk, although in many cases, “behind the desk” meant the passenger seat of my car.
I stuck at the position for over ten years and saw the job become slowly unbearable with worsening conditions I was expected work under. I put in for early retirement when it got to the point I couldn’t stand it any longer, which was over three years ago and not had a minute’s regret in doing so. I would have liked to have stayed until I was 65, but a healthy bank balance with no debts, meant it was a decision I could not refuse. I have been contacted three times asking if I want to go back, but I know what will happen if I did.
I can’t say I’ve ever thought about it too much. Aren’t we told that working class, middle class and upper class is all a thing of centuries gone by.
Personal ambition to want to see what you can achieve is a good starting point and motivator.
After that it helps to be either …
A hardworker.
Lucky.
Clever or talented.
Know the right people.
So many work hard and seem to miss all the breaks in Life … and others do nowt but coast along trading on their connections.
I don’t know my station. I was brought up to have respect for people from all walks. And I’ve stuck to that.
That’s because it’s unnatural for blokes to sit behind a desk fiddling with a keyboard and being physically inactive. The male human body was built to do manual work hence the more muscular physique, if you don’t use it, you lose it…Why are so many people obese these days?
Because they eat bad food. Not because they have an office job.
And as for your pseudo masculine notions of what work is fit for men and what isn’t - my guess is that you’d have lasted half an hour before the stress and pressure of many office jobs broke you. Oh, and the gym is for strength and fitness. Not some grubby factory.
My field is/was electrical engineering, a good degree in, my opinion, practical too being a world traveller. So that was my station in life…
I was never cut out to be one that gives orders or one to take orders.
I didn’t have a station . 
I didn’t even have a platform!
Yes Lincs, isn’t that just the point I’m making, blokes weren’t cut out for sitting on their bottoms all day.
Gyms have only become popular because nobody does any physical work anymore…People are making gym owners rich by paying out good money to do what a proper job used to do while earning money at the same time…
Quite ironic really…
Spot-on. But you sound as if this situation is an aberration and will be turned back to all blokes doing physical work again. That won’t happen, Bob.
I know it won’t Dachs, but I’ve done my bit and it’s up to the next generation to fashion the world into what they want it to be like…Or what the establishment want them to think they want…