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No, I don't really do a lot of grimy work on a daily basis but I do put my hands in the water a lot because I do lots of house chores that require water like dish washing. And I have started limiting water contact from my hands since too much water use can strip your hands of moisture and make it dry and flaky which is what my hands have been experiencing. I have been using makeshift gloves i crafted from plastic grocery bags when washing dishes because we don't have any rubber/latex gloves at home at the moment. This information is probably irrelevant though since water is used as a cleanser so it isn't really known for causing build up. But it could be a possible cause and also I touch a lot of oils and butters so maybe that's what's been accumulating under my nails but im not really sure. I do wash under my nails with a tooth brush and soap but the white stuff never washes off.
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That "white stuff" is the keratin, which is what nails are composed of. It is not anything accumulating under your nails.
It is opaque white shows near the nail bed where it keratin is thicker, and lighter (more transparent) near the nail tip has thinned due to scrubbing with a toothbrush and cleaning with a sharp instrument. The attachment of your nail to the nail to skin, also known as the nail bed, is also normal, trying to remove it can damage your nail, or open places for fungus or infection to penetrate.
Here is a detailed description of what your nail is and how it grows:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24734-nail-matrix
If you are still uncertain, you could stop in at your school nurse (if you have one) or a local nail shop to ask if your nails look normal to them.
Sue