College is where people go to learn. They learn about a specific subject area; they learn about the world at large; they learn about themselves.

Even with everything that students learn in college, many will leave the institution without a realistic perspective on the working poor.

In my life, I have known far too many students who waited until they finished college before they entered the workforce for the first time. Indeed, their first jobs had titles such as doctor, attorney, pharmacist and engineer. Those who didn’t start out making over $90,000 a year were making $40,000. Even many of my liberal arts friends started out making $25,000 to $30,000 a year.

I don’t begrudge these friends for their high salaries because I know they worked hard to get where they are in life. At the same time, I can’t help but notice how their limited workforce experience confines their ability to understand not only what life is like for workers making minimum wage but also for blue collar workers making $10 an hour.

As someone who has worked in blue-collar jobs, white-collar jobs and been self-employed, I have noticed the difference between professional jobs and low-wage, blue-collar jobs goes beyond income level and whether a person works with their hands or their minds.

In fact, the biggest difference seems to be about the amount of respect given to employees. At a professional job, employers will respect an employee enough to trust them to take restroom breaks when they are needed; at a low-paying job, managers often question why you are using the restroom during company time.

At a professional job, employers often will trust employees enough not to even require a time sheet for keeping track of hours; at a low-paying job, employers often will fire someone for being six minutes late.

At a professional job, employers typically will treat their employees as vital resources to the company; at a low-paying job, employers typically will treat their employees as expendable.

The last statement cannot be understated. Managers who see their employees as expendable often take the position of, “I can treat you however I want to, and if you don’t like it, you can leave. There are 20 applications sitting in my office from people who would be more than happy to have your job.”

The workplace conditions of professional jobs and low-paying jobs are worlds apart. In that respect, it often is very difficult for one side to understand what work is like for the other. For this reason, I believe it is important for every college student to work in at least one low-paying, blue-collar job before they graduate.

Working one of these jobs will help you to build character. You’ll learn the physical limitations of your body. You’ll learn self-respect as you deal with a large number of customers who believe they are superior to you and aren’t afraid to let you know through their actions. You’ll learn perspective as you discover a large number of really great people who have been working in crappy jobs for 20 or more years and have never found a way to move up in the world.

It is a sad truth that the majority of you will have very few personal connections to low-wage workers by your 10th high school reunion. That isn’t to say you won’t know the name of your favorite waitress or cashier at your favorite restaurant, but it is doubtful she is someone you will spend any time with when she gets off work.

I have many friends working these types of jobs. I have even more that I run into randomly while visiting various places in Norman. When we visit with each other, we swap old stories and give updates about people we knew who moved on to other things. They give me details about ridiculous changes in company policies, and we share our dreams for the future.

When I hear people attack the working poor, I think of my friends. When I hear people attack those on welfare, I think of my friends. When I interact with people in the service industry, I give them respect because they remind me of my friends.

No matter how far I go in life, one thing always will remain true: I am no better than any of my previous co-workers, and neither are you. So take the time to work in at least one crappy job before you graduate.

Tom Taylor is a political science graduate student.