Ford CEO explains why he wants his 17-year-old son to get a job as a welder or mechanic
Published on Oct 06, 2025 at 7:44 AM (UTC+4)
by Jason Fan
Last updated on Oct 06, 2025 at 8:34 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
When it comes to raising his teenage son, Ford CEO Jim Farley is taking a refreshingly down-to-earth approach that might surprise many in corporate Detroit.
Instead of sending his 17-year-old son Jameson to a cushy internship or an exclusive summer program, Farley’s priority was to make sure he got a job learning how to weld and fabricate.
The goal wasn’t to prepare him for a future in engineering or management, but to understand what it means to work with his hands.
According to Farley, the experience is all about building character, humility, and appreciation for the people who keep America running.
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Jim Farley is a big believer that blue-collar jobs are important
In a recent appearance on the Decoder podcast, Farley revealed that he wanted his son to see firsthand the value of skilled labor.
“He learned how to fabricate, he learned how to really work with his hands and relate to people,” Farley said.
“If he turns out to be the greatest welder or a mechanic working on our super duty diesel engines, I will be so thrilled as a parent.”
In the interview, the Ford CEO also stated his belief that society has unfairly prioritized tech and white-collar careers over blue-collar jobs that form the backbone of the nation.
“Our parents and grandparents made our country wonderful because of these kinds of jobs,” he said.
“There’s incredible dignity in emergency services, but our society doesn’t celebrate those people like they do the latest engineer for AI.”
Farley even framed the issue as one of national resilience.
“We get into war somewhere,” he said, “Google is not going to make the boots — but Ford will.”
The Ford CEO is a big fan of Chinese EVs
When asked about the current state of self-driving, Farley shared his skepticism about Tesla’s approach to self-driving.
The Ford CEO also gave his honest opinion on Apple CarPlay Ultra, although he stated that the company still remains committed to Apple.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom.
Farley had plenty of good things to say about his Chinese competitors, even going so far as to say that Ford has no future if it can’t compete with China’s EVs.
In fact, he even drove a Chinese EV for six months, and admitted to being very impressed by the experience.
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Jason Fan is an experienced content creator who graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with a degree in communications. He then relocated to Australia during a millennial mid-life crisis. A fan of luxury travel and high-performance machines, he politely thanks chatbots just in case the AI apocalypse ever arrives. Jason covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on technology, planes and luxury.
