--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: no job, no matter how lowly, is truly…" description: "\"no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.\" — Barbara Ehrenreich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_jobs_no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unsk_525366.png" --- # no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled. ![“no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.” quote by Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_jobs_no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unsk_525366.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_jobs_no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unsk_525366.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_jobs_no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unsk_525366.png) > “no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.” [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even low‑paid work requires skill; labeling jobs as 'unskilled' undervalues essential labor. **In simple terms:** All work needs skill. Key Takeaway Respect all labor, challenge 'unskilled' label. Themes labor rights economic justice skill recognition Mood critical empathetic Type sociopolitical advocacy When to use this quote - service industry - manual labor - gig work - volunteer roles Key Concepts sociology political economy human dignity Questions to Reflect On - What skills do you overlook in everyday jobs? - How can society better value low‑paid work? A Different Perspective Skill may be informal, hard to quantify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Job Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-matter-952286/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Lowly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lowly/) [Lowly Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lowly-truly-4425560/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Truly Unskilled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-unskilled-4425559/) [Unskilled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unskilled/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [If I am not talented and don't know my job, then no matter what I do, I am not going to get work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tripti-dimri/if-i-am-not-talented-and-don-t-know-my-job-then-no-matter-what-i-do-i/) [Tripti Dimri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tripti-dimri/) > [You've got to teach yourself you can do your job no matter what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/you-ve-got-to-teach-yourself-you-can-do-your-job-no-matter-what/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [Nothing is more fatal to success than taking one's job as a matter of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schwab/nothing-is-more-fatal-to-success-than-taking-one-s-job-as-a-matter-of/) [Charles M. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schwab/) > [“What is a rainbow, Lord? A hoop for the lowly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/what-is-a-rainbow-lord-a-hoop-for-the-lowly/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Highly fed and lowly taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/highly-fed-and-lowly-taught/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It would be a lowly art that allowed itself to be understood all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-would-be-a-lowly-art-that-allowed-itself-to-be-understood-all-at/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Though I have looked everywhere / I can find nothing lowly / in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/though-i-have-looked-everywhere-i-can-find-nothing-lowly-in-the/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Ideally, content should be shared, mixed, mashed, and reposted - it wants to flow through the Internet like water. This was the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/ideally-content-should-be-shared-mixed-mashed-and-reposted-it-wants/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [“Thus God's work and His eyes are in the depths, but man's only in the height.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/thus-god-s-work-and-his-eyes-are-in-the-depths-but-man-s-only-in-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“Most sane human beings who have managed to attain and retain fame each uses it to dramatically increase their name’s chances of being remembered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-sane-human-beings-who-have-managed-to-attain-and-retain-fame/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If someone thinks I'm posh, it just shows how lowly they are. Some people think I went to Eton. I'm far too stupid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/if-someone-thinks-i-m-posh-it-just-shows-how-lowly-they-are-some/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [No man made great by death offers more hope to lowly pride than does Abraham Lincoln; for while living he was himself so simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-man-made-great-by-death-offers-more-hope-to-lowly-pride-than-does/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back in the 1980s, when I was a lowly editorial assistant by day and trying to be a novelist by night, no god reigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/back-in-the-1980s-when-i-was-a-lowly-editorial-assistant-by-day-and/) [Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/) > [You, God, made yourself lowly and small to make us great!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/you-god-made-yourself-lowly-and-small-to-make-us-great/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“The lowly have small ambitions, and are satisfied with small indulgences. They need not get fair treatment. They need only think that they do... ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/the-lowly-have-small-ambitions-and-are-satisfied-with-small/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) ## More by Barbara Ehrenreich > [Money does not bring happiness' - only the wherewithal, perhaps, to endure its absence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/money-does-not-bring-happiness-only-the-wherewithal-perhaps-to-endure/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Yes. I think the anti-Wal-Mart is Costco, which pays much better and has much better health benefits and which is profitable and offers low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/yes-i-think-the-anti-wal-mart-is-costco-which-pays-much-better-and/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Jesus: a wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/jesus-a-wine-guzzling-vagrant-and-precocious-socialist/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [ What would it mean in practice to eliminate all the 'negative people' from one's life \[as demanded by motivational speaker J.P. Maroney\]? It might… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/what-would-it-mean-in-practice-to-eliminate-all-the-negative-people/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Wars produce warlike societies, which in turn make the world more dangerous for other societies, which are thus recruited into being war-prone themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/wars-produce-warlike-societies-which-in-turn-make-the-world-more/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Heads of state are notoriously ill prepared for their mature careers; think of Adolf Hitler (landscape painter), Ho Chi Minh (seaman), and our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/heads-of-state-are-notoriously-ill-prepared-for-their-mature-careers/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Some people make stuff; other people have to buy it. And when we gave up making stuff, starting in the 1980s, we were left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/some-people-make-stuff-other-people-have-to-buy-it-and-when-we-gave/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [ “Robert Jackall’s book \[ Moral Mazes \] impressed on me that corporate dress serves a far more important function than mere body covering. “Proper… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/robert-jackall-s-book-moral-mazes-impressed-on-me-that-corporate/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [war is, in some not yet entirely defined sense, a self-replicating pattern of behavior, possessed of a dynamism not unlike that of living things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/war-is-in-some-not-yet-entirely-defined-sense-a-self-replicating/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Sometime in the eighties, Americans had a new set of 'traditional values' installed. ... the poor and the middle class were shaken down, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/sometime-in-the-eighties-americans-had-a-new-set-of-traditional/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Marriage probably originated as a straightforward food-for-sex deal among foraging primates. Compatibility was not a big issue, nor, of course, was there any tension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/marriage-probably-originated-as-a-straightforward-food-for-sex-deal/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [I became a student of the history of religion. I am fascinated by how religions often center on mystical experience, and in the Old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/i-became-a-student-of-the-history-of-religion-i-am-fascinated-by-how/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [The nation was not founded by habitual groupthinkers. But it stands a fair chance of being destroyed by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/the-nation-was-not-founded-by-habitual-groupthinkers-but-it-stands-a/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [ “You might discover that, nationwide, America's food banks are experiencing 'a torrent of need which \[they\] cannot meet' and that, according to a survey… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/you-might-discover-that-nationwide-america-s-food-banks-are/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [My Turn is the distilled bathwater of Mrs. Reagan's life. It is for the most part sweetish, with a tart edge of rebuke, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/my-turn-is-the-distilled-bathwater-of-mrs-reagan-s-life-it-is-for-the/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) [Explore all 274 Barbara Ehrenreich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) ## More Jobs quotes > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/my-first-ever-job-after-college-was-as-a-flight-attendant-i-wanted-to/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [My favorite job is the next one. Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [Musicians talk of nothing but money and jobs. Give me businessmen every time. They really are interested in music and art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-sibelius/musicians-talk-of-nothing-but-money-and-jobs-give-me-businessmen/) [Jean Sibelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-sibelius/) > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [I've never believed unemployment numbers because the way that they calculate unemployment makes no sense whatsoever. It's not how many people are unemployed. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/i-ve-never-believed-unemployment-numbers-because-the-way-that-they/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [We're going to create factory jobs for recent immigrants, and Donald Trump is going to take care of them. That's why his numbers, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/we-re-going-to-create-factory-jobs-for-recent-immigrants-and-donald/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [Some people, you know, should just go to college and do what they do and have a great job and not worry about trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/some-people-you-know-should-just-go-to-college-and-do-what-they-do/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [I have a question, a question for the president: Do you hate all rich people, or just rich people who don't contribute to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-have-a-question-a-question-for-the-president-do-you-hate-all-rich/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) [Browse all 14,478 Jobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Ehrenreich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unskilled/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Jobs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unskilled/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_jobs_no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unsk_525366.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_jobs_no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unsk_525366.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_jobs_no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unsk_525366.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.” — Barbara Ehrenreich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Ehrenreich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "no job, no matter how lowly,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unskilled/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unskilled/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```