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by gnarcoregrizz 487 days ago
Shit's tough though. Most tradespeople have lots of injuries... smashed hands, bad joints, have to breathe in toxic shit all day, bad hearing. My 35yo friend can hardly stand from back pain. And, it can be _very_ skilled. Business/shop owners can and do make quite a bit more than the standard software engineer.
2 comments
attila-lendvai 487 days ago
i have 35yo programmer friends who can hardly stand from back pain.

i don't want to diminish the risk of injuries, but in big part it's also a question of lifestyle. every once in a while even programmers need to lift something beyond their current capacity... and even craftsmen can become couch potatos who only lift at work when they must... and because of that lose touch with their limits.

(programmer here who does metalworks as a hobby)

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XorNot 487 days ago
Nothing reminds you of your mortality when on the weekend you feel the exact moment you were twisting just slightly the wrong way while moving something.
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ngcc_hk 487 days ago
Or just put the sun shade of my car to the back seat and twist my left arm … still pain after 1 year.
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3D30497420 487 days ago
I subscribe to number of construction/trades-related sub-Reddits, mostly to learn since I'm starting to do a lot more DIY work on my house. It really is a tough job physically, both in overall strain and specific injuries. Many people on those groups (especially the older ones) talk about downing painkillers just to get themselves through the day.

Edit: Actually reading the article now, and...

> One slip and you get a hand or foot bitten off. A jack slipped once and smashed the side of his jaw, requiring $20,000 in dental surgery. “I kept working that day, though.”

That's insane and just toxic. I feel like so much of this "working with your hands" is joined with this idea of making people "tougher" because that's intrinsically better.

Edit 2: And this:

> You know, I’m more proud of being a journeyman bricklayer than being a college biology graduate. To know how to work with your hands is a great gift, good for your body and your heart.

Why? I get this is a politician saying this, but I see little reason why one should be mythologized more than the other.

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