> But if I really had to choose between the mental tedium of labeling data (which I end up doing quite a bit of myself) vs. backbreaking outdoor work, or something like repetitive food service prep... I’d pick the latter every single time.
In developing countries, status is an important element which people in developed nations may not think about. For example, how many derogative terms can you rattle off for people who labor in the heat of the sun all day? In the U.S. we have "redneck." There are worse terms for people of other races and nationalities in the region. In the U.S. these terms are a bad joke, in the Philippines, this is life. In the Philippines, skin whitening products are a big seller because dark skin is associated with the poor and laborers (the "Mestizo" has light skin which traces back to relatively well off Spanish heritage.)
You might choose outdoor work, but you have to understand the culture to understand why their choices might be different than yours.
Interestingly, in the US the skin color status has switched when most jobs went indoors (both white and blue color work). Tanning became a status for people with lots of leisure time.
In developing countries, status is an important element which people in developed nations may not think about. For example, how many derogative terms can you rattle off for people who labor in the heat of the sun all day? In the U.S. we have "redneck." There are worse terms for people of other races and nationalities in the region. In the U.S. these terms are a bad joke, in the Philippines, this is life. In the Philippines, skin whitening products are a big seller because dark skin is associated with the poor and laborers (the "Mestizo" has light skin which traces back to relatively well off Spanish heritage.)
You might choose outdoor work, but you have to understand the culture to understand why their choices might be different than yours.