Mike Rowe Quotes

We are lending money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist. That's nuts.

Passion is too important to be without, but too fickle to be guided by. Which is why I’m more inclined to say, 'Don’t Follow Your Passion, But Always Bring it With You.'

Dirt used to be a badge of honor. Dirt used to look like work. But we've scrubbed the dirt off the face of work and consequently we've created this suspicion of anything that's too dirty.

The skills gap is a reflection of what we value. To close the gap, we need to change the way the country feels about work.

The flaw in our character is our insistence on separating blue-collar jobs from white-collar jobs, and encouraging one form of education over another.

I can say the willingness to get dirty has always defined us as an nation, and it's a hallmark of hard work and a hallmark of fun, and dirt is not the enemy.

Happiness comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that's consistent with those beliefs.

What you do, who you’re with, and how you feel about the world around you, is completely up to you.

Why does a chicken coop only have two doors? ... Because if it had four doors, it would be a chicken sedan.

I wouldn't wish any specific thing for any specific person - it's none of my business. But the idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane. It's insane.

Don't follow your passion, but always bring it with you.

Opportunity usually shows up in overalls and looking like work.

Anything worth doing hurts a little.

People with dirty jobs are happier than you think. As a group, they're the happiest people I know.

Not all knowledge comes from college.

People like to cherry-pick the parts of their career that they're either in the midst of or that they're the most proud of, but the truth is careers and lives are tapestries.

Michael Brown and Eric Garner died because they got into a confrontation that could have been easily avoided. That's what made their deaths so tragic.

I'm looking forward to the future, and feeling grateful for the past.

Nobody makes a turd like that and lives.

I always complain because I'm old now and everything hurts.

Short-cuts lead to long delays.

There's really not a difference between an octopus and, like, a giant pile of snot.

Good jobs look a lot like kids playing and adults working.

You've got a lot of very, very smart people standing by waiting for somebody else to do the work. Not a recipe for long-term solvency in my opinion.

Some jobs are just too hideous to contemplate.

The thing that makes 'Dirty Jobs' different is that it's one of the few shows that portrays work in a way that doesn't highlight the drudgery. Instead, it highlights the humor.

Innovation without imitation is a complete waste of time.

I'm allergic to rocks hitting me in the face.

Always flat front. You've got to be deeply suspicious of a man who consciously goes with pleats. Why would you do that?

Im a B-list celebrity trying to give it an honest look. They see me do actual work. ... I try to be the viewer with a microphone.

Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that’s consistent with those beliefs.