<p>Our last plumber (who was absolute fabulous) came to reconnect our sink when our new counters were put in. He needed NO parts…we had them all. $350 for an hour that he was here. BUT he was truly fabulous. Really knew his stuff and got it done. I couldn’t believe I was paying him that amount and he didn’t even have to figure out a problem. I have his business card and I would call him again any day. He was great.</p>
<p>Good paying factory jobs are not typical and not an argument to use to choose a career path. The supervisors in the factory where I work make about $35k/year.</p>
<p>If enough people take the article to heart and rush into the machinist trade as a way to make a six-figure salary with no college needed there will soon be a glut of machinists. The “…so few of us” factor that drives up earnings and ensures steady employment will soon evaporate.</p>
<p>My father topped out at around $60k a year when he was a master plumber and owned his own business. Take home pay wasn’t nearly that because he owned his own business, but he loved going to work every day. He could have made far more but he absolutely didn’t believe in price gouging. His business thrived on repeat customers. </p>
<p>The few factory workers I know around here make ok money. $17-20 an hour isn’t bad for someone in the early 20s and a high school diploma or GED. However, they’re constantly in fear of losing their jobs because the companies won’t contract them. </p>
<p>I wish more people were encouraged to pursue trades. There is nothing wrong with it but we’ve put some sort of stigma on it.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with it but we’ve put some sort of stigma on it.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is anything wrong with it either.
However if my H had a college degree, he could transition into a job that he could stay in, until retirement. As it is, the physical nature & forced overtime have really taken a toll on his body. Combine that with your salary not buying as much as it did thirty years ago, & he feels pretty burned out.</p>
<p>Our plumber who was a friend of the family had a very flexible lifestyle. He flew up to Alaska every summer in a plane he had restored, had a summer house & lives on a houseboat. He also has a degree.</p>
<p>Nothing precludes graduates from going into the trades after they get a degree & since the career that current high school students will retire from likely hasn’t even been thought of yet, college isn’t just a path that only those who max out the AP offerings at their school should consider.</p>
<p>Note that the good jobs for those who do not get bachelor’s degree require their own type of education, training, and skills beyond a high school diploma. Such education may or may not be in a classroom setting; apprenticeships*, on-the-job-training, and/or self-education are also included.</p>
<p>*Conceptually, one can view academic graduate study leading to a PhD as sort of an apprenticeship for academic jobs.</p>
<p>Threads like this one always remind me of that dialog in Caddyshack…</p>
<p>Danny Noonan: I planned to go to law school after I graduated, but it looks like my folks won’t have enough money to put me through college.
Judge Smails: Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too. </p>
<p>(Don’t read any societal or political commentary into my memory. I’ve just seen the movie so many times that some scenes blurt out. )</p>
<p>All circles back to doing what one has skills and aptitude for.</p>
<p>Humans have many different intelligences, and finding work that fits one’s own set of intelligences is hard enough to do w/o also having to worry about what other people will think about becoming a plumber/diesel tech/machinist/electrician.</p>
<p>Know lots of people “in the trades” and nowadays many who were construction foremen and owners are now back climbing ladders to keep their business afloat. I would echo EKs comments on the toll on your body. Add that to the fact that the union guys have to strike when the union says…and the self employed live or die by the next job and have to hope that they get paid. Standard time for getting paid in our business is 100 days. I have had invoices as much as 300 days out. small company doing commercial construction work so we are at the bottom of the food chain. We get paid when the general contractor gets paid and then pays the sub above us who then pays us. It’s a nightmare. I have the lawyer on speed dial.</p>
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