The landscape has changed. At least, the landscape as pertains to Amish work, and what they do. Yes, indeed. Most Amish aren’t farmers these days, and that fact may come as a surprise to many. I mean, it seems in casual pondering of it, like most Amish men would be farmers. Yet, we find that’s really not the case anymore. I believe the statistic scores somewhere under 10 percent in most populations. That’s not a lot of Amish tilling the land. Let’s just say 1 in 10. Not very many then. So what do Amish do then? Let’s explore this topic today. And another area related to this is, do any Amish women work outside the home? Another important related area to consider.

       But before we dive head first into this whole topic of Amish work, let’s first consider the fact that Amish men where mostly farmers for hundreds of years. Ever since the beginnings, when they came to America, what was it? 1700s somewhere, they lived and thrived on farming. Raised goods and sold them to others. Raised animals and sold product from them. Cultivating the land, that’s the way it was. However, there were other occupations. Certainly there was blacksmithing, carriage building, printing eventually, and the like areas. It wasn’t always just farming. And interestingly enough, even in English society a lot of times this was the way it was. Wasn’t it technology that really created a bunch of new jobs?

       And it’s really this whole topic of technology that drew the Amish away from farming. After all, when you want to keep your personal tech around, say, 1885 or so, that limits the speed at which you can get things done. That then, in turn, limits the amount of product you can produce. And if everyone else isn’t doing it that way anymore, hence the English, that could be a problem. How can the Amish man keep up, and compete? In many ways, he couldn’t. And I think that’s why a lot of them left the agriculture behind. But it’s also true that farming is, to a greater extent, an unpredictable business. The paycheck isn’t always guaranteed like in a more regular job. Markets fluctuate. You don’t know if you’ll pull in the cash this season.

       The English guys got the big machines, and they rip-roared down their fields in them. Many more lanes of travel they can cover. Sure, cost may increase because of the use of the machines, but so did the end result in a quicker time. So, the money must be there, and it certainly is easier. Why, my understanding is that some of those farm-machines are even air-conditioned on the inside. Pretty amazing if you stop and think about it. Being able to farm in the air-conditioning. Sure beats being out in the elements. Though, at the same time, one does lose that natural vibe. The vibe of experiencing nature while accomplishing one’s work. And that could really make it a disadvantage. An Amish guy would probably say so.

       In fact, much of Amish farming is done with the family, right? I think so. The Amish man gets to work with his wife and with his children while he farms. Whether it’s tilling the field, picking grapes, feeding the chickens, trimming trees, whatever, that’s the way it’s done. That’s a great advantage. That’s part of staying out in the elements. That’s what it begets you. And we know that the pillar of Amish life when we are talking about the home is keeping the family centralized, keeping everyone together. That’s the goal. Separation and independence are frowned upon. Technology seems to create more and more of that separation.

       Then there’s the whole view of working the ground because it is what God created. I mean, after all, the Amish man is in his element when he is caring for, and reaping from the soil of the earth. Makes good sense. Especially considering that’s the way it’s been done for thousands of years. People in the Bible farmed. It’s a natural occupation (no pun intended). It’s what Adam first did in the Garden of Eden. It’s what God commanded him to do. To work the ground and to keep the ground. So, it stems all the way back to the very beginning of things, the beginning of time. There is a lot of pride in that, and it is a noble thing then. Indeed, the Amish look favorably on farming.

       So, if not farming, then what do Amish men do? Well, first, let’s consider the fact that many of them have moved over to factory work. Yes, as industrialized America has gotten bigger and bigger, and making product has become systematized, factories have popped up in various places. Many Amish have taken the reigns of these types of jobs. Really, this whole concept of assembly-line like building came from the Ford Motor Company in the early 1900s. It seems reasonable to assume that they started a lot of it, and other companies just followed the model. The Amish are good, hard workers, and these jobs often require one to be keeping one’s focus and strength at its prime.

       A great advantage, again, to this type of job is that the pay remains fluidly coming in. No depending on markets. With a forty-hour workweek, or whatever one has, he knows what his paycheck is going to be. Along with this comes a fixed schedule. He works the same hours everyday. Goes in at the same time, and gets off at the same time. No odd hours in doing chores around the house. No getting up at the crack of dawn to feed the chickens or milk the cattle. It is all the same everyday, every week. That means one can plan more confidently. Money can be more easily predicted, perhaps even counted on. However, the man is away from the home, and that can be seen as a problem.

       But factory occupations aren’t the only thing Amish men find themselves doing. Another popular occupation, as I understand it, is carpentry work. Whether that’s personal wood-crafting, building furniture, or even assembling homes, I think there are a lot of areas here the Amish man can find himself working in. The cool thing about these areas of occupation is that they allow, in some cases, the Amish person to put a little more of a creative spin on what they are doing. While the assembly lines in factories are simply doing the same thing over and over, the carpentry craft can allow for some uniqueness to the work being accomplished. That might, over time, be more satisfying to the worker. Who knows? Perhaps some don’t care. Everyone is different.

       Even for one who is assembling homes, for instance, that requires different areas of expertise as well as the fact that not every home may be assembled in the exact same way. It creates variation in the employment, whereas the assembly line might be more limited in scope, and of course monotonous. I know for me, personally, if I had to choose between the two, I would want to labor away at building the homes. But that’s just me. Everybody may not agree obviously. I think I would get too bored working on an assembly line. I like things to change up every once in a while.

       I don’t know much about this, but I have heard that some Amish women are now even joining the ranks and working in factories as well. Giving up common restaurant jobs and restaurants are struggling to find help. Again, that’s all I can really say because it’s just something I’ve heard out and about.

       Anyway, finally, the third major area of work for the Amish man outside of farming would be that of running a business. Being a business owner. There is a lot involved in such an endeavor, from the legalities to keeping the staff doing what they are supposed to be doing. What is interesting is that a lot of plain people seem to be business people. Shop ownership seems common. Anyone knows, driving through a heavily populated Amish area, that there are lot of Amish businesses typically. Furniture stores are common. The other big one, of course, is food. The Amish own a lot of their own shops in which they sell this or that tasty treat. Whether it’s general groceries, or bakery goods, or chocolates themselves, the Amish sell them.

       While we are on the subject, it seems that even sometimes Amish women run their own businesses. I don’t think this is necessarily limited to single women, as married women seem to be among the ranks of owning their own businesses as well. And, from my observation, these seem to be commonly food based businesses. There may be a shop on the same property as the house where baked goods are sold to even produce fresh from the garden. In these cases, a great thing is that it generally becomes a family affair, with at the least the daughters helping the mother with her business. I know I have personally experienced this in my travels.

       I remember one time being far out into the country looking for an Amish bakery that had been highly recommended from a person online. It was out there—even on gravel roads. Dust and rocks everywhere. I passed a couple open carriages with the guys just leading the horse from the front bench. Seemed pretty rustic, more basic. May have been a Swartzentruber area. Nonetheless, I finally found the farm, and the sign was one of those chicken scratch signs leading into the property. I took the turn down the driveway, which wasn’t paved at all—it was sheer mud. Howbeit, dry thankfully. Finally, I arrived at the shop, which was a building next to the main house.

       Stepping into the bakery, there was the young daughter working as a cashier and salesperson while the mother did the baking. Pies, pies, and more pies. Good, hefty looking pies. But really, this place was known for its doughnuts. Big, fluffy doughnuts. I was helped out by the young lady in picking a half-dozen. Then I purchased an apple pie. I wanted cherry, but she said she didn’t have it. Finally, a homemade loaf of bread? Why not. So, that was added to the order as well. And their prices were reasonable. I think I paid around $20 for all this, which, considering that it was homemade, wasn’t bad at all. And the doughnuts, as promised, were incredible.

       Nonetheless, the point I am making in all this is that these small businesses provide benefits. For one, they certainly provide at least a decent amount of income because they otherwise wouldn’t exist. I mean, can you imagine having your own business on your property that you could just walk over to and run? Actually, I would imagine that more and more people can to some degree, considering people are working from home in stay at home jobs on computers. Anyway, a second benefit is that, again, the Amish people get to work with their families at these businesses. And that is a truly priceless advantage for them. The family is less split up when they can just stay at home together and work together. It is similar to farming in a way, only it may be inside instead of outside.

       A third characteristic that is a great asset in these small businesses is freedom. Obviously, in factory work, that doesn’t really exist. In carpentry it is limited. In farming, maybe getting to choose of the crops and animals is freedom. But in running a small shop, that is the best freedom because there are a lot of choices in what that business can be. There are products to be sold, or things to be worked on. Hours are decided not by an external force, such as other people or the sun rising and setting, but on what the Amish person wants, at least to a great degree. I think having a small business sounds like fun, sounds like the option that would bring the most enjoyment. Again, though, everyone is different. Some people probably don’t want to think about whatever it is that they are doing, but would rather just go to the job and be told what to do.

       A drawback to the family business is that money may not always be guaranteed, or could be seasonal. This, to some degree, would have to be controlled by what is being sold. If the store is a grocery store, for instance, that might bring further complications to the whole matter. If it is a bicycle shop, that would probably make things more stable, but even that would likely run into a slow time like during the winter if the shop is located in a wintery area. However, that fact can be planned around, and the shop owner would learn that over time, and how to better manage money over the year. So, it’s probably not that much of a major factor if one is good at managing the money.

       Anyhow, we can see in all of this discussion the options for the Amish when it comes to making money. Sure, it all started with cultivating the land and whatnot, but things have come a long ways since farming was the main way of doing things. Certainly, there are a lot of other options for them, and ones that provide good income. While the Amish may not work certain occupations for whatever the reason, they have a good amount of options in the areas they choose. The important thing is that hard work and persistence, at keeping the nose to the grindstone, that keeps the money coming in. Whether it’s by oneself, or with the family, or the wife or single woman working on the side, there is something for everyone to do. And with that, the Amish can find themselves prosperous in many ways. The money is there to be made, all one has to do is decide how he or she wants to do that.

- Daniel Litton

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