White Collar Workers: Definition, Job Types, And More
by Abdul Aziz Mondal Job & Career Published on: 14 August 2023 Last Updated on: 08 November 2024
A typical white collar worker belongs to a category of employees that are mostly popular for earning higher salaries on average by doing highly skilled work and not by performing any manual labor at their jobs.
White collar workers have forever been referred to as the “shirt and tie” set, that fall under the sector of office and management jobs where they do not have to “get their hands dirty.”
The class of white collar workers stands in contrast to typical blue collar workers who traditionally wore blue colored shirts and worked in factories, mills, and plants.
Points To Remember White collar workers are typically the "suit and tie" workers that work at the desk while stereotypically abstaining from physical labor. White collar jobs usually come with higher pay and are comparatively higher-skilled jobs that need more education and training than manual or low-skilled work. Some examples of white collar workers may include managerial designations or professions like lawyers or doctors. A white collar job is often contrasted to a blue collared job, implying a stratification of the working class.
Understanding White Collar Workers
White collar workers are mostly suit-and-tie workers that work at a desk and, quite stereotypically, abstain from physical labor. They usually make more money than a typical blue collar worker.
White collar jobs meant a higher level of education, along with the assumption of a cushy job that comes with securities and perks.
However, the American Writer Upton Sinclair is somewhat responsible for the modern-day understanding of the concept of “white collar” by conjuncting it with administrative work.
The difference in implication between white collar workers and blue collar workers has a lot to say than what we just perceived about the service industry compared to agriculture and manufacturing.
White collar jobs typically include lawyers, company management, accountants, consultants, finance and insurance jobs, and computer programmers, among multiple others.
There are many national white collar workers’ unions; however, the concept of a union is mostly popular among blue collar workers.
White-Collar Jobs Expectations
White collar job positions are usually expected to provide opportunities to promote more important roles as executives or managers. White collar workers may expect to get a higher pay scale, with the possibility to continue to rapidly increase their income with further improvement.
These jobs are mainly office based; however, certain industries may require a physical presence in the field. This is mostly applicable to employees that have regular meetings with clients or customers or have to travel to meetings or conferences.
Accountants, attorneys, architects, real estate agents, bankers, business consultants, and brokers are usually considered to be white collar workers.
The actual work that they do may not be typical menial; white collar workers are required to spend excessive hours during the working week and even on weekends.
It is a must for white collar workers to improve their skills over time, which in turn makes them an extremely valuable intellectual asset for the company’s growth. For instance, an accountant is required to keep track of every regulatory change that might affect how the clients or the company report its income.
An attorney on the other hand will be required to keep themselves informed about the current rules or chased in case that particular law is affecting the area of their expertise. A real estate agent will have to keep up with the real estate price fluctuations and all the influences that impact such factors.
What Are The Different Collar Jobs?
Now that you know of the white collar jobs, let me give you a little insight on the other categories of collared jobs that include:
Red Collar Jobs: These jobs are mainly referred to those individuals that work directly in the government, like politicians.
Blue Collar Jobs: These are the jobs that need individuals to have high expertise of manual labor, like a construction worker.
Yellow Collar Job: Yellow collar jobs require individuals to have an extreme level of technicality and intellect, with the requirement to put the skills to manual use, like a surgeon.
16 White-Collar Jobs
Here is a list of white collar jobs that you may want to look at if you consider being a white collar worker:
- Software Developer / National Average Salary: ₹45141 / Month
- Market Research Analyst: National Average Salary: ₹16430 / Month
- Accountant: National Average Salary: ₹17228 / Month
- Management Consultant: National Average Salary: ₹6,35613 / Year
- Financial Advisor: National Average Salary: ₹21137 / Month
- Information Security Analyst: National Average Salary: ₹5,94020 / Year
- Financial Manager: National Average Salary: ₹7,75161 / Year
- Civil Engineer: National Average Salary: ₹19085 / Month
- O/Ations Research Analyst: National Average Salary: ₹18726 / Month
- Financial Manager: National Average Salary: ₹7,75161 / Year
- Lawyer: National Average Salary: ₹20914 / Month
- Health And Medical Services Manager: National Average Salary: ₹9,20180 / Year
- Administrative Services Manager: National Average Salary: ₹31807 / Month
- Database Administrator: National Average Salary: ₹6,58904 / Year
- Cost Estimator: National Average Salary: ₹21919/ Month
- Real Estate Appraiser: National Average Salary: ₹46867 / Month
- Physician: National Average Salary: ₹42096 / Month
How To Get A White-Collar Job?
A typical white collar job will need you to have a certain level of formal education and training, that will depend on the position that you are applying for.
While certain positions require you to have a minimal level of training, while some will need you to have extensive knowledge of the field that you are getting the job in.
Here are some of the ways in which you can try to fetch yourself a white collar job:
- Thoroughly research the educational and training requirements that are needed for the job role. Make sure to look for any special training that might be required.
- Most white collar workers are expected to have prior work experience. Therefore, before aiming for the giants, make sure to get some office experience to make as that will get you more credits.
- Make sure you have a strong resume. A strong resume will make recruiters more interested in your educational and training background.
- Try to land an interview.
The Bottom Line
I am hoping this article was well informative to you in most of the possible ways. However, if you still have any more queries, feel free to drop a comment below, and I will be here to help you.
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