Here's a post that's been percolating for a while, based on observations I've made. I'll broadly differentiate as white vs blue collar, though I'm counting, say, non-office-based sales work here under the blue collar umbrella.
The interview-to-offer ratio
In my experience in the white collar world, employers work hard to shortlist very few candidates and only interview a couple in person. On the other hand, blue collar employers seem to bring people in willy nilly. I am deadly serious when I say T has been to more job interviews in a single week of job hunting than I have in my entire career. So many interviews, so few offers. So much time wasted bringing someone in just for a chat. Ever heard of phone screening?
The sheer difficulty of interviewing
Interviewing when you're unemployed isn't too hard, logistically. But if you're still employed?
Well, for me it's never been a biggie. I can take my lunch whenever I want and have the flexibility to duck out to appointments during the day if needed, and make time up. For him? Breaks are strictly timed, usually at set times. That makes it pretty hard to get away for an interview during the day, unless it happens to be on the same street. And again, refer to the first point above about the sheer number of interviews required to get anywhere.
Transport costs
Speaking of that inflexibility, that often necessitates having a reliable vehicle so you can be sure of getting to work on time every day. And if you work anything outside of 9-5, you can definitely write off public transport as an option. Yet it's probably a struggle - at the very least, when you're starting out - to afford a decent car. So much irony: low-level job, strict hours, struggling to afford transport in order to keep said job.
Blue collar jobs are much more spread out over the whole city, whereas white collar employment is more concentrated in town. This further complicates the whole transport issue ('just move closer to work' isn't that simple).
Tools of the trade
Even with discounts, we have spent hundreds, if not thousands, on gear and tools and training for him at various jobs. All that on not particularly high wages, really. True, you can take some of these with you to new jobs ... but that's if the stuff doesn't wear out or break or expire first.
I've never been expected to pay for things that I need to carry out my duties at work. There was one time I paid for a design/photo-editing app out of my own Apple account and didn't submit for reimbursement. DON'T do that by the way! It was certainly not expected, and I kick myself now for that. What was I thinking? (I was thinking that I felt grateful for the salary at my new job and I could easily absorb the cost. NOT the point.)
