I love this time of the year, it is April which means the start of the golf season in Central NY and also for the past few years it has meant that Deadliest Catch is on. It starts April 10 this year on the Discovery Channel.
It’s all the same, only the names will change
Everyday it seems we’re wasting away
Another place where the faces are so cold
I’d drive all night just to get back home.I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride
I’m wanted dead or alive
Wanted dead or alive
Sorry, I was a little excited. There is a lot that we can learn from the men on the Deadliest Catch. First there is no greater love than love of your family. These men go out on the edge of the world to fish in some of the harshest weather imaginable to provide for their families. I am sure there are some that like doing it, but many are doing it to provide for their families.
Secondly, I find it rather amazing what some people will do to earn some money. At the end of the season they show the totals per person on the boats and some of them are 20-30k for a month or 2 months of work. That is great money, if you don’t mind working 1047 hour days.These men are making great money away from their families: what amount is sufficient to spend half a year away from your child? You miss the important things in your child’s life because you are out earning money to support you family. For me the answer is simple, I couldn’t leave my children for any length of time no matter the money. Do you have an exciting career that your life is on the line daily? What do you think about leaving your children in search of money to support the family?
Lastly, there is no such thing as a quick buck. Sure if you look on paper these men make a lot of money, but not knowing what they are going through on a daily basis it is easy to pass judgment. I have seen bloggers come into the industry hoping to make a quick buck by putting an ad on their site and hoping people click on it. I hate to burst their bubble but it is not that easy. I had no idea the amount of time that went into blogging when I first started. I would browse personal finance websites; I had no idea about what went into the actual design of a website. I had used PowerPoint before it was drag and drop not web design it is CSS, RSS, HTML, .Php, wp-admin my mind was on overload. Forget about bringing people to your site that is a work in process that hopefully I will master at some point.
Occasionally, I will let you into my background but here is a piece as it relates to this post. I used to work as a blue collar worker during my college days. I found the work rather mundane, but I enjoyed being out in the sun and working in the fresh air. Now I am confined to an office that recirculates the same air, with no windows, using an old computer to perform complex excel functions. When I was a blue collar worker, I would come home and my body would be tired because of lifting all day, now I come home and I am mentally tired from evaluating formulas. I haven’t decided which is worse! Sometimes I wish I could go back to a high paying manual labor job that was relatively stable that I enjoyed doing. Maybe someday I will become an entrepreneur and blend those two.
When you reflect on where you have been, where would you like to go with your career or dreams?
I think I am more tired from office work than I was as a landscaper. Granted, I had more energy when I was a landscaper because I was in my late teens, but when doing manual labor, once your shift is over, you don’t think about it. With an office job, you are always worried that you missed something, or worried about a deadline.
@ ShortRoadTo – Agreed, maybe that is the part that tires me out the most, thinking about the work that I just left and wondering how I will get it all done in the next week.
I love Deadliest catch. Being from Maine, I actually know a lot of people who work on the ocean (lobster fishing), so the show reminds me of home a little bit (sounds weird I know).
I agree with ShortRoadTo. I use to do a lot of outdoorsy type jobs when I was in college. Yes they were physically draining, but nothing compares to brain drain and the fear that you messed something up at your desk job.
@ Kari – You ever go crabbing?? or Lobster trawling I think it is… Sending things to the CFO at my job used to get me so worried that I would spend an hour looking it over. Now it is second nature and doesn’t bother me when they use the information I provide them to make major decisions!
Never crabbing, but lobstering, clamming and smelting. One of my best friends from high school is a lobster fisherman. Every time we got home he brings lobsters fresh off the boat, yum.
I don’t worry about paperwork so much, just client issues. When you work with mentally ill homeless women there’s always the fear that you’ll make a call that will end up dangerous (to them or to staff). The other day a drunk client aspirated her own vomit and now has pneumonia because my security guard let her go upstairs without alerting staff she was drunk ugg.
@ Kari – the extent of my seafood is tunafish out of the can! That sounds like so much fun to do. I really want to go to alaska and see Dutch Harbor! Hard work isn’t it lobstering, clamming and smelting? It know it would make me appreciate sitting at a desk more if I worked out there for a few hours with those guys!
Great post, I love the occupational reality shows. I don’t mind working in an office when you don’t have to be a paper pusher. I like my work as long as I am working on a project that is forcing me to use my brain, do some critical thinking, make some decisions, etc. But if I’m just pushing paper and doing errand work? Then I’d rather be out doing!
@ American Debt Project – Right now I work on a project that consumes about half of the year to complete. It is the bread and butter of our operations in determining the rates that we are reimbursed. I enjoy the thinking and I love doing complex formulas in excel to see what capabilities the program has! But some days I would just rather be outside mowing a lawn or shoveling dirt!
Since we got rid of our cable, I can’t say that I watch Deadliest Catch. But as a blue collar guy, I can say that working outdoors IS great. And even when a lot of my job sites are indoors, it is sort of neat to be in different buildligs all the time, it never gets old. They physical labor is good becuase then I don’t really have to exercise when I get home like so many people. But then again, the toll on the bodies of blue collar guys is supposed to be bad. I hurt my back and it’s always in pain, and I can’t take days off to help it get better becuase my livelihood depends on my physical labor. There are plusses and minuses to both I guess!
@ TB – you are not missing much. I would rather do without cable and find other ways to enjoy life. TV just draws you in and you find yourself wasting hours sitting there staring. I know what you mean the physical aspect of your job and the toll on your body, but I dont know if I am going to be able to use excel or be savvy at the computer when I am 60. Unfortunately that is part of getting old 🙁 I wonder what if you will still be following this blog when I am 60 🙂
The guys on that show may be sacrificing to be away from their families for long stretches, but then they get long stretches where they constantly spend time with them. So it all balances out. Considering how much they can make in a month or two, I don’t feel bad for them at all.
As for getting worn out at an office job, I think sitting down all day contributes to that too. When your body isn’t getting enough exercise you just get tired easier and it can lead to other health problems. If your work in general isn’t satisfying though, maybe it is time to consider a switch. A change in scenery to a new company might be enough to get you to appreciate it more.
@ Jeremy – Are you close to Alaska? I am not too familiar with the geography of Canada. It does balance out with time with their family, I just could never put my life on the line like that. Glad I am a finance nerd and the most danger I will have is kicking out the plug and getting a little shock.
The other factor is that those guys usually aren’t educated enough to make that much money any other way.
I’m in BC which is the province right below Alaska, but I’m in Vancouver which is right beside the Washington border. I grew up further north though and Alaska was literally a few hours away. I never had any reason to go up there though.
@ Jeremy – true and they have grown up around it all their life, so to many of them college isn’t even an idea that is entertained!
Someday I will pull out a map and plot where everyone that comments on my site is from. Global reach which to think about it is pretty cool!
This also reminds me of that one show where the gold miners look for gold for several months. It is extremely dangerous and labor intensive, and they spend months away from their families too. It’s pretty scary and I don’t think I would do those types of jobs to be away from my family just to get a quick buck.
I also know what you mean about working in an office. I am mentally fatigued after reading through contracts all day. Surprisingly I miss my college job when I was a file clerk at a law firm. I would go to court, sit in on depositions, see clients, and just help the attorneys out in every way possible during trials. It was so fun and I was always bouncing around to different people and places. Yet I was making minimum wage. Funny how life works.
@ From Shopping to Saving – I was watching the gold mining show too “Gold Rush” they kept showing them searching for gold and it seemed like they never found it. I would watch week after week hoping they would find something and it seems like the last 2 episodes they stumbled on it! Variety is the spice of life and having a constant changing job is exciting and makes work fun!
Seeing those waves alone would scare me. I used to watch Deadliest Catch, but after one episode of Shark Men, I was converted. But it is definitely amazing what people do for a living. The risks are unbelievable and I can’t imagine being away from my family for so long.
@ Dannielle – hmm I dont think I have seen Shark Men, sounds interesting though. I love Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.
I’m continually learning that work is supposed to be hard, whether physically or mentally. If it isn’t hard, you’re probably doing something wrong.
I have never been paid for physical labor, though I’ve done a lot of volunteer work that way. I always found it quite satisfying, but if it was my job I’d probably feel otherwise.
@ Lindy – I am starting to feel the same way as you about work. My relaxtion time is blogging at night. I love intereacting with fellow bloggers and it is amazing the perspectives that you can come across on the same topic.
I enjoyed the various gold mining shows that were on this last year. I found that more exciting (or at least new) compared to deadliest catch. It really isn’t even a competition any more as all those boats have quotas. I know that my brain is very tired after most days of work, and sitting all day leads to not wanting to go to the gym, even though I need to and in most ways want to.
@ CultofMoney – When I am watching TV it is permanently fixed to Discovery Channel..I love all their shows. The brain drain just drains the entire body of energy. Probably why so many New Years resolutions fail! 🙂
I love the series and admire those men. I also admire the effort of discovery channel filming unit. I think they have brought documentary filming to a whole new level.
On desk job Vs Blue collar job – There were a few instances when I had to do a sort of blue collar job but I quickly realized that I was not made for it
On Dreams Vs Career – As far as choice between career and dreams is concerned, chasing a dream is not for “sane” people. If want to chase a dream you got to love it. You got to be passionate about. you got to enjoy it. There are times when I feel that my blog will never be successful and I feel depressed but I do not quit it. Because I like it. I put my career progress at stake to work on it, even it doesn’t pays me anything
@ Karunesh – keep up the good content on your site. I love the creativeness of your site, there are not too many out there like yours! I love blogging so far, I love waking up every morning and seeing someone commented!! It is a natural high!!!!! Enjoy your weekend!!
I’ve watched a random episode of that show here and there. It’s crazy hard work. I didn’t realize they’re out to sea for that long at a time. I can’t imagine being away from family, especially kids for that long. -Sydney
@ Untemplater – The work looks insanely hard and no sleep. I do not envy those guys at all, I do envy their drive though to provide for their families!
I watched the Deadliest Catch not once and must say: “It’s work in hell but instead of heat – ice-water shower, etc.” These guys are really brave. It’s always a pity to see when their cages are empty.