Mike Rowe actually testified in front of the Senate on this matter, an interesting read if you’ve got the time:
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/mike-rowe-senate-testimony.html
^That has me thinking…
Foureyed is dead on about skilled trades. With all the baby boomers retiring there is a huge shortage of skilled tradesmen.
And I’ll take this opportunity to plug my local.
IBEW Local 41 (electrical union) on california rd in op gives applications every Wednesday from 3-5
If your not good at alegebra and some trig than it’ll be tough for you to get in. If your strong in these areas, and don’t mind hard work, it might be a good fit for you.
And it’s not the typical union stereotype. We work our balls off. There’s a reason why Frey, Ferguson, And IPL are three of the largest electrical contractors in Buffalo. All three employ union journeymen and apprentices.
I wanted to get into welding, but the cost of the training was ridiculous. I might as well get another associates. Makes me think about other trades though.
This quote definitely stuck out to me the most.
I know I posted this before but I hired an off season Med school student who thought the concrete I was taking to the recycle yard was going to be “melted down” and recycled. His statement scares me to this day when I think about what is coming up the path looking for a job these days.
Might as well:
What’s a former tech teacher (taught construction systems, principles of engineering, world of electronics, design and drawing, engineering design and drawing) good for these days?
I have a few job leads (CBP, NYS Park Police) but nothing set in stone just yet, and I don’t want to go back to school (accepted to UB for engineering, but 3-1/2 years for ANOTHER degree REALLY blows when I’m already 23 and not getting younger), so I’m looking for options.
Do I mind getting dirty? No.
Do I want to work at Geico/Ingram? Absolutely not.
If I can come home each day and either be physically tired from a hard days work (worthwhile work) or because I just finished working on an awesome project…I call that a honest days work.
I’m not looking for a 50-60k job, I’ve tried that. I don’t give a shit about my degree anymore, it’s a wash. I just want a steady job that’s not retail or sales.
Thoughts? Anyone looking for a good worker?
Oh i totally agree with you man. If there is such a thing as luck, ive never seen in it my own life lol.
Out of all my subjects math has always been the worst. The only reason i passed it in highschool was because the teachers liked me or I failed it and passed some how in summer school. I failed it 4 times in college and threw in the towel after that I even had my sister take the math class with me and thought I got the hang of survey of mathematics and swore I had the right answers only to find out I was dead wrong lol.
How is electrician unions? I was trying to get in local 210 for masonary or concrete but that didnt happen. My uncle works in District council#4 painter/glaziers union and could possibly get me in as an apprentice in the spring.
Skilled trades are a great way to go and a vital part of society.
There are always going to be some people out of work no matter the education level. But I am a man of facts and data and simply put you are about 1/2 as likely to be unemployed with a 4 year degree compared to a High School diploma. Also you average weekly earnings is about 2x as much. These statistics represent the nation and all too often we get caught up looking at individual results like “I know xxx with a college degree who can’t find a job.”
http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
Brad was training to be a welder for a while, he stopped going to the trainings because he didn’t want a hard working blue collar job, but if you make it all the way through it can be a very lucrative career. VERY good pay, and you can travel with the job (good welders are in demand fucking everywhere). But it takes quite a bit of commitment to go into that kind of field.
Yeah I remember that. I’ll have to talk to my uncle, he was a master welder for Bell Aerospace
Until the kids that couldn’t find work with their 4 year start coming out with a Masters making the 4 year degree look weak? LOL 
There is a lost wage factor when spending years in school rather than earning an income, rarely factored in or discussed. There is clearly a debt & interest factor, the majority don’t have a college fund and must leverage their education. Most students are heavily leveraged, if they invested wisely they’ll almost certainly be rewarded, if they gambled they’ll probably be buried in insurmountable debt. Like everything in life it’s about proper planning and expecting a realistic outcome.
I feel like if the job market doesn’t improve soon the next bubble to go will be student debt. The lenders will be bailed out of course, but for the people their debt isn’t excusable. Unlike the housing bubble where you had something tangible backing the debt, here you have intellectual property which can’t be shadowed or auctioned off.
Accoring to census data the net worth of the AVERAGE american(not saying anyont here can’t do better or worse) with a degree is 4X that of one without.
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0721.pdf
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/income_expenditures_poverty_wealth.html
Drew forgot to qualify his statement with don’t get a degree in something stupid like fine arts and wonder why you can’t get a job.
With the exception of friends of mine who became doctors/lawyers only a handful actually make decent money with a 4 year degree…Unless their parents handed them a job somewhere.
Like I stated before, it’ll be difficult if your not good in math. It’s a commitment too. You work a full 40 hour week and then have a 4 hour class once or twice a week. And homework. It’s not too bad though. You get used to it. As long as you pass in school you get guaranteed raises every year until you top out. And you get health insurance right away. Unless you don’t need it. Than you can have the money dumped into another account which they set up for you, and you can use it for vacations or daycare or whatever you want really. And there’s an actual vacation fund as well.
I’d say apply. Worst case is they have you take an entrance test and you bomb. Maybe you surprise yourself and do well. It is all multiple choice.
And some of the other trades may not be as heavily dependent of math. HVAC, carpenters, painters, plumbers, steam fitters.
I think steam fitters were really short. They were using plumbers on their jobs to fill in. Or maybe it was the other way around. If you search for “buffalo area local steam fitters” I’m sure you’ll find the address and stuff. Same with the others.
Damn, you guys are depressing me with how things really are out there. I guess I might skip going back to school once my son is old enough and go back to soldier of fortune. Six figures for six months a year doesn’t sound so bad.
The stats don’t lie. That is all I am here to share. Each individuals path may differ.
It is complicated to read between the lines though since someone with a HS diploma could learn a skilled trade or get health certification for example where the earnings and employment rates can be great. I just wanted to clear up what it looks like on the national scope in a general context.
I second the trade idea that’s been mentioned…
Try to get a job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, they got an excellent corporate structure and they… They give you the tools to be your own boss.