6 General Labor Jobs That Are (a Lot) Harder Than Lawn Care
If you’ve worked in general labor jobs – also called manual labor jobs – you probably just shrug your shoulders when people tell you it sounds tough. It’s work. You’re used to it.
(But if you’re being honest with yourself, tough guy or gal, you’d prefer something a little easier on the body, wouldn’t you?)
Guess what? What we do – landscaping and lawn care – is a lot less hard than many other general labor jobs out there.
Here’s six. Have you done any of these?
6 MANUAL LABOR JOBS THAT ARE TOUGHER THAN OURS
- Dancer
Yup, it’s labor. Do you have any idea how physically demanding dancing is? If you weigh 185 pounds, you burn 8 calories per minute during moderate dancing. That’s 488 calories per hour. Add to that as you add to the intensity required on a professional stage.
To put that into perspective, one study says an hour of weight lifting burns only 266 calories for someone of the same weight. Intense dancing is basically twice as exhausting as, say, working on a loading dock for an hour. No question: dancing is labor.
- Structural Ironworker/Steelworker
This is tough construction work, involving raising, joining, welding and rigging girders, columns and other structural parts. It’s also stressful. Part of the job is ensuring perfect alignment of components so the structure is sound, and to prevent accidents by making sure the ground at the worksite is level.
Steelworkers know how much of their back goes into building storage tanks, premade metal buildings and bridges. It takes human bodies to lift beams of iron and steel to establish their center of gravity and ensure slings are properly embedded. This is definitely one of the toughest jobs out there.
- Forest Firefighters
The job of an urban firefighter is tough enough. What makes forest fire fighting so much more taxing is the among of time spent walking or running over land. Add to that 12-hour shifts amid the heat of widespread wildfire, and you’ve got a seriously tough job.
There are additional hazards that make the work stressful and dangerous. Falling trees, vehicle accidents, heat stress and the dizziness caused by smoke inhalation are just a few. Forest firefighting is certainly not for the faint of heart.
- Fence Erectors
If you’ve ever built or fixed fences and gates, especially commercial ones, you know just what toll it takes on your back, neck and shoulders – for starters. This work is inevitably more involved than first-timers realize.
Using hand and power tools to dig post holes, build and/or install rails, assemble gates and weld metal components are just a few of the tasks required before you even put the fence up. Combine that with all the walking up and down the fence line, and it’s easy to see where the aches and pains come from.
- Correctional Officers
This is another one not usually considered general labor (or manual labor), but it most certainly is. Working in a prison means constantly walking the facility for inspections and to maintain security. Of course, that alone isn’t what makes the job so physically demanding.
Settling disputes between inmates means running to the scene of the altercation. Sometimes words fail. Subduing unruly inmates requires an explosive expense of energy. And if an inmate escapes, officers are on the move to assist local law enforcement with recapture. It’s high stress, and surely hard labor.
- Stonemasons
Laying out structures like wall patterns, foundations and curbstones is important, highly visible work that attracts people to this profession. What is far less desirable is what they spend so much of their time doing: mixing mortar and grout, and then pouring that heavy mixture.
In addition, cutting tile and setting stone or marble in place is some of the most physically demanding work you can do. Do this for a day and you’ll be far less likely to complain about weeding tomorrow!
WHY NOT WORK A LITTLE LESS HARD?
Clean Cut Lawn & Landscape is hiring. We love working with young people who have done some general labor – maybe on the family farm, or in a factory setting – and want to try something different.
We also love working with people who have been in the adult workforce, who value the reward of good work for decent pay, and who maybe want to come work outside for a change.
Landscaping and lawn maintenance isn’t the easiest of manual labor jobs, but it’s far from the hardest! It can also be deeply satisfying to recognize you have contributed to something beautiful.
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Come work for us. Just click the button below to get started.
Clean Cut Lawn & Landscape
7415 W Jackson St
Muncie, IN 47304-9759
(765) 759-8575
info@cleancutlandscape.net