IT is white collared manufacturing

It is often advised in HR that you learn about human resources and its true shape only after working in a manufacturing sector.

It is even truer for students like us who are from a background which is enriched in law, counselling and psychology. But suddenly with other sectors emerging sectors like IT and Retailing who can pay more people are at crossroads if it is worth going to manufacturing sector where the pay may be comparatively lesser?

In a recent conversation with a senior practitioner who has had diverse experience mentioned that in today's world unlike 25 years back when they started it is not a must to go to manufacturing as it is not an IR dominated industry like what it was. He advised us to go to any organization where learning is high which should be the criteria and the key points he said were

1. In most of the manufacturing sectors today the staffs are outsourced.
2. Most companies have no union at all
3. Manufacturing projects are coming up slowly as we are shaping up to be a knowledge based economy.

His most crucial point was the way he remarked that today's IT sector is actually White collared manufacturing sector in terms of grievance counseling and earlier it was management who used to threaten staff to leave now management begs staff to stay. Manufacturing is not what it used to be where you had to keep a straight face to both parties any malice on any side could cost you a lot.

For people who may not be familiar manufacturing is one of the most challenging areas for a HR to work and the incidents of HR officers having lost life thanks to violent reactions is not unheard of. Unlike Manufacturing where people may have been tested for patience in terms of dealing the HR job in IT sector is more like firefighting where you have to buckle up pressure from the business heads so in essence it makes sense to call "IT A WHITE COLLARED MANUFACTURING JOB"