# Are Postal Workers and Security Guards considered white-collar or blue collar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554 "2017-06-21T17:26:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/1 "2017-06-21T17:26:29Z")
In the US, would you say the occupations of Postal Worker and Security Guard are considered blue-collar or white-collar employment? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/2 "2017-06-21T17:40:37Z")
Blue collar. Oversimplified but handy definition: Blue-collar jobs use hands, white-collar jobs use brains. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/3 "2017-06-21T18:03:38Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Blue collar. > Oversimplified but handy definition: Blue-collar jobs use hands, white-collar jobs use brains. +1 Got it in one. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/4 "2017-06-21T18:39:04Z")
White Collar implies a desk job that involves paper work or computer work and very specifically not wearing a uniform. Here is[one Definition:](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/white-collar) > [@](#): > > belonging or pertaining to the ranks of office and professional workers whose jobs generally do not involve manual labor or the wearing of a uniform or work clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/5 "2017-06-21T20:09:32Z")
So Superman and Batman are blue-collar, whereas Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are white-collar? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/6 "2017-06-21T20:14:51Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > So Superman and Batman are blue-collar, whereas Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are white-collar? I don’t think any of them count as blue or white collar. Singular costumes are not uniforms and private detectives really don’t fit either blue or white collar. I don’t think this is a binary formula. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/7 "2017-06-21T20:26:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > White Collar implies a desk job that involves paper work or computer work and very specifically not wearing a uniform. > > Here is[one Definition:](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/white-collar) So a judge is a blue collar worker despite being a professional who does [del]bench[/del] desk work because he/she wears a uniform. :smack:😛 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/8 "2017-06-21T20:30:04Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > So a judge is a blue collar worker despite being a professional who does [del]bench[/del] desk work because he/she wears a uniform. :smack:😛 Neither, this is not binary. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/9 "2017-06-21T20:53:12Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Neither, this is not binary. A judge is a “white collar” worker, the same as an attorney appearing before him/her. But a better example of someone who is neither blue collar nor white collar might well be someone who habitually wears a white collar: a minister/priest. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/10 "2017-06-21T21:42:19Z")
It can often depend on who you ask and why. Many clerks and shop assistants wear uniforms and may well consider themselves “blue collar” as their earnings are low. If they are invited to a prospective partner’s family dinner, they will be “white collar” because it has a higher status. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/11 "2017-06-21T22:24:55Z")
White collar jobs generally do not involve wearing a “uniform” - but some do. You wouldn’t say a military officer has a blue collar job even though he/she wears a uniform.And the blue collar/white collar distinction leaves out a whole segment of jobs that aren’t really either. “Pink collar” used to refer to working class jobs in the service sector and non-professional office jobs that were predominantly held by women, like bank teller, cashier, hairstylist, receptionist, typist etc. I’m not sure if there is a new label for this sort of job. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/12 "2017-06-21T23:27:31Z")
What about a surgeon or advanced practice nurse? They wear a uniform of sorts and work with their hands as well. I don’t think there is a very good distinction other than level of intellectual expertise required and even that fails much of the time. Even pay doesn’t work because many blue-collar workers like plumbers and electricians make more than many people that work in fancy offices. I work in a very blue-collar industrial facility but I am a long-term consultant and no one would consider me blue-collar. Still, I have to wear a safety vest much of the day like everyone else. The terms are really trying to make an arbitrary class distinction based on job or profession that doesn’t hold up very well in current U.S. culture. The clearest difference I know of is exempt salaried (white collar) versus hourly pay (blue collar) in facilities like mine. Still, that doesn’t work either if you are a self-employed carpenter or plumber. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/13 "2017-06-22T01:27:08Z")
Batman isn’t blue-collar. He’s black-collar. Or sometimes very dark gray. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/14 "2017-06-22T03:12:46Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > What about a surgeon or advanced practice nurse? They wear a uniform of sorts and work with their hands as well. Dunno, the surgeon who brilliantly fixed my arm was dressed in casual clothes when I saw him just before, and the same — shirt and chinos — when I’ve seen him for check-ups; no doubt he wore the right gear for the actual surgery ( not that I would care much ). And in the whole of the rather large hospital I never see one person wearing a suit. Thank God. Maybe it’s less formal in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/15 "2017-06-22T06:28:10Z")
white collar jobs=there’s a minimal education requirement, and having a diploma is considered relevant when you apply for the job. (even if’s just a high school diploma) Blue collar: experience and ability to do the job are more important than having a diploma. Obviously, there are a lot of exceptions, but you get the idea. So to me, postal workers and security guards are blue collar. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/16 "2017-06-22T10:19:12Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m not sure if there is a new label for this sort of job. I thought that we had dropped such labels on the grounds that they are totally meaningless. In my career I drove lorries, managed a transport fleet and a warehouse, and was a manger in the NHS. What does that make me? My wife spent 30 years as a highly skilled nurse in uniform looking after premature and sick babies - what was she? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/17 "2017-06-22T11:22:25Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > What does that make me? You misunderstand- the labels were applied to jobs , not people. So if you started working on the warehouse floor and rose to logistics manager, you would have been a blue collar worker at some points and white collar at others. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/18 "2017-06-22T16:17:54Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > What about a surgeon or advanced practice nurse? Both white collar by social status and relative income, whereas an RN with no further distinction is almost prototypical of an upper-blue-collar job and status. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/19 "2017-06-22T17:10:01Z")
White collar workers take a shower before work; blue collar workers take a shower after the get home. ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554/20 "2017-06-22T18:13:41Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Both white collar by social status and relative income, whereas an RN with no further distinction is almost prototypical of an upper-blue-collar job and status. Why would you say an RN is considered upper blue collar? My parents were RNs. My mother only wore the little hat and uniform briefly (She became a Nurse in 1975 - by 1980 both were gone). They wore no uniform, but were expected to dress well. My father in particular was given a hard time, during the 1990s and 2000s, by his supervisor for having long hair (even tied in a ponytail) as he was told his presentation didn’t fit. When he wore a leather vest, he was told the same thing. He was also told he should “fix” his Brooklyn accent as he sounded “like a dock worker” - all by his supervisor. They made around (in today’s money) $70,000 a year - which I would consider a white collar salary. Although even when both were working, we rented an apartment and we didn’t live in luxury. My mother became a Nurse in 1975, my father in 1988 - yet both didn’t own their first new car until 1994 and 2001 respectively. Every car prior to then was used. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-postal-workers-and-security-guards-considered-white-collar-or-blue-collar/789554.md?page=2)