By Jason McClure
In today’s America, the story we’re told about success is built on division. On one side, there’s the blue-collar worker—practical, hands-on, debt-free, but supposedly capped in how far they can go. On the other, the college graduate—educated, burdened by loans, but with more opportunity for long-term growth. These two groups are often painted as rivals, each looking at the other with a mix of envy and superiority.
But the truth is, they’re more alike than different. And the divide between them is less about reality and more about narrative—a distraction that keeps both groups from seeing their common adversary and the shared ground they stand on.
The Invisible Ceiling of Skilled Work
For many young people entering the trades, the appeal is clear. Start working right away. Earn a solid wage. Avoid the crushing weight of student loans. An HVAC technician, machinist, or electrician can make $40,000–$50,000 a year without stepping foot on a college campus. In some cases, they out-earn college grads in their twenties.
But over time, the story shifts. That “good wage” begins to stagnate. Promotions are few, and the ladder of advancement is short. By the time life brings a mortgage, kids, or medical bills, that once-comfortable paycheck doesn’t stretch as far. Meanwhile, tuition rises faster than inflation, making it harder to go back to school later. What looked like a smart choice at 22 can feel like a trap at 42.
The Debt Tradeoff
College graduates, by contrast, often start in the red. Loans delay financial freedom. Early jobs may pay less than a trade. But the long game looks different. Degrees in business, accounting, or engineering often come with a clearer trajectory: incremental raises, promotions, and a path to higher earnings.
Yet even here, privilege creates a divide. Wealthier families can afford to give their kids breathing room. They can hold out for the “right” job, take unpaid internships, and craft resumes that open executive doors. First-generation or working-class grads rarely have that option. They grab the first paycheck they can, even if it locks them into jobs with limited upward mobility. Over decades, those early compromises shape who rises into upper management—and who doesn’t.
The Hypocrisy at the Top
If these tradeoffs were simply a matter of personal choice, it would be easier to accept. But what makes the divide sting is the hypocrisy of those who preach one path while practicing another.
When I worked in HVAC, I noticed a pattern. The owners told young workers they didn’t need college—“just work hard in the field.” But none of their own children skipped college. Every single one went. Some returned to the business, but not into the field. They slid into air-conditioned offices, into sales, management, or administrative roles—positions that often required the very degrees their parents had told their employees were unnecessary.
The same double standard shows up in public figures. Dave Ramsey, for example, frequently tells parents not to pay for their kids’ college education. Yet he paid for his own daughter’s communications degree. Today, she gives financial advice on his platform with only that bachelor’s in hand. Even when she made choices he didn’t approve of—like getting a tattoo in college—he continued to pay her bills and fund her future. Meanwhile, his advice to middle-class families is often to cut their kids off financially for doing the same.
The people at the top understand the value of education—they just refuse to admit it out loud.
The Real Enemy Isn’t Each Other
This is the heart of the issue: while workers are busy comparing notes—blue-collar wages versus student loans—the real winners are the executives and policymakers who benefit from the distraction. One group struggles with stagnant wages. The other shoulders debt and unequal access to opportunity. Both are navigating an economy designed to funnel wealth upward while keeping ordinary people divided.
And that’s by design. If the skilled worker and the college grad see each other as rivals, they’ll never join forces to push back against the structures that hold them both down. This could mean advocating for policies that forgive student debt and strengthen wage growth for skilled trades, or supporting unions that fight for all workers, regardless of their path.
A Call to Bridge the Divide
The solution isn’t to glorify hustle culture or to shame those who choose stability. It’s to build a society where both paths are viable. Where someone making $50,000 a year doesn’t face financial ruin from a car repair or a medical bill. Where someone aiming for six figures has the freedom and resources to chase it—without tearing others down in the process.
Breaking the double standard starts with refusing to play by the rules written by those at the top. It means seeing through the narratives that pit worker against worker, graduate against tradesperson. And it means recognizing that whether you wear steel-toed boots or carry a laptop, you deserve dignity, mobility, and a fair shot at success.
Because in the end, the fight isn’t between those who build with their hands and those who work with their minds. The fight is against the structures that tell us we can’t both thrive.
McClure Magazine 
Leave a comment