Work Smart and Hard-

Mike Rowe at the National Jamboree – Work Smart and Hard Mike Rowe at the National Jamboree telling scouts to “work smart and hard” encouraging something I have been trying to tell Scouts headed to college for years – find something you love and don’t ignore the idea of working with your hands as a career. Mike hardly needs any introduction; he’s a distinguished Eagle Scout best known to most of us as the host of the show Dirty Jobs. (The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award acknowledges Eagle Scouts who have received extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their field, and have a strong record of voluntary service to their community.) Mike has a non-profit organization profoundlydisconnected.com to raise awareness and promote the idea of skilled trades as a career: A trillion dollars in student loans. Record high unemployment. Three million good jobs that no one seems to want. The goal of Profoundly Disconnected is to challenge the absurd belief that a four-year degree is the only path to success. The Skills Gap is here, and if we don’t close it, it’ll swallow us all. Which is a long way of saying, we could use your help… Mike also offers scolarships to students pursuing a trade through mikeroweworks.com : The mikeroweWORKS Foundation announced its partnership with Scholarship America to establish the mikeroweWORKS Foundation Education Scholarship Program. The 2013 fund has been set at $250,000. The program is set up to award individual scholarships to applicants who want to pursue a career in the skilled trades. All successful applicants meeting the eligibility requirements may be awarded up to $2,500. Most carpenters, electricians, and plumbers will tell you that there is little in the way of formal training and apprenticeship these days, that the trades have become devalued as a fall-back option for those who can’t afford or aren’t interested in the more highly touted jobs that require some sort of academic degree. Some of the most intelligent, resourceful, happy people I have known work in the trades; it’s a great career path. Mike Rowe epitomizes the idea behind the Eagle. An affable, contributing, generous, and down-to-earth individual who seeks to help others find their way in life. As Mike is fond of saying ; “A Scout is clean, but he’s not afraid to get dirty”.