Do they think Trades are for the stupid among us?

[Just Jim]

Hard work isn't for everyone. I look at any work as to what kind of life is it going to give me. I look around and see who is happy and who isn't at their job, I compare lives. Most people seem like they are not happy with their lives yet they love their work.

I retired from a lifetime of construction work and had the best life possible in my mind. Blend of good family,lots of work and plenty of time off. God has been good to me.

 

[etrain16]

As we all here know, just because you work with your hands doesn't always mean your stupid. And of all the trades, an Electrician! I'd bet your average Electrician has 10x more upstairs than your average Unemployment Office slouch!
Just emphasizes what biases Universities are filling up young minds with these days as I know the ad wasn't a product of a mere Trades Person!

Is it just me or is this ad demeaning? Whoever wrote this and signed off on it has a lot of gaps in their education IMO!

As an electrician, it is a bit demeaning. I've been out of the field, working in the office estimating, engineering and managing for about 10 years, but my time in the field showed me that you can meet some very well educated folks in the trades. One of my apprentices had completed his EE degree from a university and found he could make better money as an electrician, so he started over in the 5-year JW program - to him, it was worth it to be better compensated for his time. Sure, there are some knuckle draggers out there, but many tradespeople have some college or even degrees - I had 3 years of college before I started the apprenticeship program. The trades can be a great place to earn a living and to meet and work with some really great people, people I'm happy to call my friends.

I think some of these folks forget the types of skills needed in the trades, skills such as: math (at least some algebra, geometry and trig), writing, planning, scheduling, organization, drawing/sketching as well as reading drawings/sketches, and of course being able to verbally communicate well with others. I've seen college educated folks with lesser skill sets than some tradespeople. And it's not just electricians that need good skills - plumbers, fitters, carpenters, sheet metal workers and many others, need more than just a strong pair of hands to do well in their fields.

Plus, most folks I've met in the trades are not anti-gun - that's a big plus

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

The guy's/ladies who made this ad probably have Liberal Arts Degrees and spent countless hours being lectured on "Ethnic Culture and Diversity in the Workplace", or "Feminist issues in Today's Society" or some other useless gobbledygook courses!
The only thing they are qualified for is making asinine feel good PSAs that appeal only to others of their ilk!
Probably paid for by the taxes of the very people they disparage in this dumb ad!

 

[Just Jim]

Funny about the trades, educated people don't want to do that work so they pay more than they make an hour to have it done. In general of course

 

[Jamie6.5]

Where do you think the meme about "immigrants are doing the jobs Americans won't do" is coming from?
I can tell you right now, it's from the people that made this ad, and countless others like them.

They have also infiltrated/infected the Human Resources field, insisting that everyone have at least "some college" before considering them. People with sometimes decades of experience are being passed over in favor of applicants that have an associates degree, but don't know the first thing about the field.
Why do you think we get such stupid responses from the people at sports and outdoors stores?
It's because they don't know crap about guns/ammo/fishing rods/reels/scopes etc. etc., but they have two years of college and enjoy hiking/biking/skiing etc.
So HR thinks they understand the equipment and the customer. When the reality is, the HR person knows NOTHING about either. But by god, they've got that shingle, and are looking for people like themselves.

As a result, many trades employers are screaming for qualified help, and not finding it.

The next problem is the schools, and I mean High schools, not colleges.
My son wanted to be a machinist, know that having a trade to fall back on would be advantageous, and he had a certain amount of aptitude for it. I taught him how to read a Mic and a Verneer, he knew people in the trade and was willing to pursue CNC programming as well as the finer points of metal cutting and finishing.
His HS teachers and counselors told him that under no uncertain terms should he pursue that.
Furthermore, they convinced him (at one point) that if he didn't get a 4 year degree, even in something worthless like sociology or political science, that he would be homeless and on the street in less than 20 years.
They truly believe that a college diploma is the only path to success, and that if one refuses to pursue that, they have no value as a worker or contributor.
And/or that they are idiots, that know nothing about computers, the internet, or even how to learn. If their education didn't come from a book, in a classroom setting, they don't want them.

If you doubt this diatribe, check the trades-job offerings, and take note of how frequently the ad says:
"Must be able to read and write and/or communicate in english." Or something similar.

 

[natef]

Somthing my wife and I have talked about since before having our boys is that College isnt for everyone. We are both of the belief that you can do very well and have a very nice life with other options. we have always said there are 3 options when you graduate,

1. College
2. Military
3. Trade School

what is not an option in our house is just going out into the work force. No matter what we have also layed down that we will NOT pay for a BS degree. there are just not enough jobs in the liberal arts fields to provide for a family and ill be darned if im going to pay for a degree in human studies of the african frog whisperer.

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

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[JRuby]

The way jobs are being handled now days is via the internet in my skill set. The problem is often you have to go through a recruiter because a lot of the companies have off loaded the part of HR that does the head hunting. I think it would be great to go directly to the companies but you really cant because a lot of the adds don't really say who is the parent company - only the head hunting agency.

I went to the military on my 18th birthday and though I had military experience in electronics I could not find a well paying job that did not require a college diploma. If you don't have a college diploma in my opinion it makes getting a good job harder now days.

 

[erudne]

tap tap tap
pwo sti tute

 

[CoastRange57]

The way jobs are being handled now days is via the internet in my skill set. The problem is often you have to go through a recruiter because a lot of the companies have off loaded the part of HR that does the head hunting. I think it would be great to go directly to the companies but you really cant because a lot of the adds don't really say who is the parent company - only the head hunting agency.

I went to the military on my 18th birthday and though I had military experience in electronics I could not find a well paying job that did not require a college diploma. If you don't have a college diploma in my opinion it makes getting a good job harder now days.

Pretty solid take there. A college degree has been the key to a better paying job for a number of years, not just recent times. My early college level education was in ag engineering and crop science. I left college with 2 terms left on a Bachelors degree...because.....my girlfriend wanted to get married.... Never did go back and finish because wife did not want to move from town. Began a series of ho hum jobs in the grounds and construction trades. Wanted to finish up my commercial pilots license, but wife did not want me to quit working for that long. I continued to languish in trades jobs, got divorced and continued to work like a dog to pay alimony and child support.

Tried to get a better job, but that old college degree thing kept popping up, and my experience did not count for jack sh*t. I did go back to night school and over about 5 years managed to pick up an AA in Business Administration. That helped some, but still left me out on the 4 year degree jobs. I finally went into the construction business for myself and did reasonably well, and it finally took off in about 2004. I did manage to get it to about 1.3 million a year in 2007, and got a few 100K years for me out of it. Then along came 2009, and I watched it all collapse in a heap, and my health went with it. I lost it all and spent 3 years in and out of the hospital and damn near dying a couple times.

Now at 57, I string together IT and marketing work, and some business coaching. There are NO jobs for 57 year old white guys. There are some undeniable facts about the workplace today.

1. A college degree is required to obtain a career level position, and will pay you more than 50K per year.
2. Gender discrimination against women is still rampant in the workplace.
3. Age discrimination is stronger than ever before, the youth movement is here to stay. They will kick your old as* to the curb in a heartbeat.
4. Ethics in the job place are gone. Dog eat dog, stab whomever you have to get ahead.

I have 5 adult children. 3 of them served in the Marine Corps in combat. All 3 are employed full time, all 3 are going to college to get Bachelors degrees or certifications in Facilities Management, paramedic and Journeyman Plumber, he wants to be an inspector, not a plumber. One of the others is a sheriff deputy now working in the administrative side, and working on her Bachelors degree in Public Relations on top of her AA in Business, and trying to succeed in a male dominated field. The other one is a Construction Journeyman in a local water district, and working on finishing some night school. He is a Lt. in the volunteer fire department and his employer has selected him for an internal promotion to a Safety Director position within the next 5 years.

If you are fortunate to be born in to the longshoremans union, then you do not need college. But for every other decent paying job, you need college education and a degree beyond trade school , beyond the military, and beyond any on the job training.

30 years will be gone by before you know it, and you will be a 57 year old guy looking back at your career saying..." If only I had ....". I wish I had done things a lot differently, I freely tell my kids every wrong turn I made and how many times I stepped in shi*, in the hope they do not repeat my bad decisions.

Although my career did not turn out like I wished, I am alive, I have a roof over my head, food on my table, a wife and family who love me very much, so I am still truly blessed.

 

[Sstrand]

Oldnewbie
They think EVERYONE is stupid . . .
And considering the people who are elected they may by correct!?!?!?

Sheldon

 

[Sstrand]

Coast
Depending on the college degree you can get a "crackerjack" job flipping burgers. You will likely be trained by a high-school graduate . . .

Sheldon

 

[OLDNEWBIE]

Warehouse Manager, Factory Supervisor, Insurance Agent, any kind of supervisor! etc., all jobs that now pretty much require a Degree.
In the not so distant past a H.S. Grad could make a decent living by getting his foot in the door and working hard and moving up to a Supervisory position.
Now an Associates degree is like a H.S. diploma used to be. The Ad for my Replacement for my old Welding Shop Supervisor position required a degree.
I had worked the job for many a year and they were more than happy with me. I learned Welding and fabrication mostly on the job, no degree! Stupid but a fact of life now.
It's not impossible to make a good living without it, but it's really difficult.

 

[The Heretic]

Funny about the trades, educated people don't want to do that work so they pay more than they make an hour to have it done. In general of course

There are reasons I *usually* pay a skilled tech to do something I could do myself:

1) They will usually do it at least twice as fast. If I haven't done it in a few years it will probably take me at least twice as long to do it because they usually do this stuff day in and day out. So what is my time worth? Given the amount of time I would spend on the task, it actually costs less to pay someone to do it.

2) I don't enjoy doing that stuff. I *do* enjoy my work. Yes, I could replace a toilet, I have done it before. No I don't enjoy doing it. I have better things to do with my time.

3) They will usually do it better. They usually have all of the tools and supplies too.

4) I have someone to come back to if there is a problem.

5) If it is all a wash with regards to cost, then I am practicing "trickle down" economics.

 

[IronMonster]

Yep, I hire out lots of work, If I can stay in my shop and bill $90/hr and pay someone $60/hr to do it twice as fast as I can its a no brainer.