Difference Between Blue Collar and White Collar

Just as, we have blue blood being the blood of the royalty, we have blue collar and white collar being applied to both jobs as well as workers doing these jobs. Because of the pejorative manner in which some people use these adjectives for jobs and workers, there is some social stigma attached with blue collar jobs. However, it is a fact that both blue collar and white collar jobs and workers are essential for any economy or nation. This article tries to highlight the differences between blue collar and white collar as till date, there seems to be confusion in the minds of people while trying to bifurcate between jobs into these categories.

If your water pipeline or a bathroom fitting develops a snag, you call a plumber to attend the problem if you do not have the tools and expertise to remove the problem. Similarly, there are scores of works like roofing, repairing of walls, installation of geyser, flooring, painting, electrification, woodwork or servicing of your car etc for which you require the services of professionals. These are called blue collar jobs and experts attending to such jobs are classified as blue collar workers.

On the other hand, you need the services of a different set of professionals to keep your business books or to make your financial statements for the tax office. What do you do if you are confronted with a medical emergency? You go to a specialist doctor to have the ailment treated. Similarly, you require the services of a lawyer to deal with legal problems. These professions are classified under white collar jobs.

It was the industrial revolution in England and later in other European countries that saw large scale movement of labor from villages to cities, where industries were set up. Workers that received daily or monthly wages and worked on machines to produce goods were referred as blue collar workers. The reason why they were called blue collar was because of most uniforms being blue in color in factories. The same applies to clerical and management level jobs where people wear white shirts and thus the jobs are referred to as white collar jobs.

However, this distinction between blue collared and white collared workers is getting blurred with many jobs requiring high manual skills creating the confusion. People doing these jobs do not wear blue uniforms, and are receiving high wages lifting the standard of their jobs to higher than many white collared jobs.