As college costs continue to rise, and the threat of automation from AI looms large on the horizon, should young women be investigating other pathways that could provide well paying, stable jobs?
Obviously, these options aren’t for everyone, and on CC might seems to run counter to the mission of the community here, but that doesn’t make them any less viable.
Of course! Women should be able to do whatever they want. And should be encouraged that they can do anything
As the mother of a daughter who’s in a traditionally “male” profession. Kick butt doing it also!
Yes, and more young women (and men) should be encouraged to pursue vocational training that can lead to small business ownership.
All of the following skills can be gained without a 4 year degree and all lend themselves to small business ownership. And there are so many more, this is just off the top of my head.
Graphic design
Baking/catering
Cosmetology
Fitness, yoga, pilates
Travel agent
Interior design and home staging
Real estate
Animal care
Massage therapy
Is there any answer other than “yes” to that question?
They absolutely should pursue trade jobs, miliary, law enforcement, etc. if they are interested or if they are unsure if traditional college is the right path. My husband is a builder, and his favorite trim carpenters are twin girls who followed their father and brother into the business.
There is a huge need for skilled carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. We are in danger of running out of people who can execute these skills.
The problem is that many high schools are focused on college prep and don’t romanticize other viable (and very lucrative) options. Kids who think they may want to go into the trades often feel “less than” their college-bound peers. You don’t see any yard flags congratulating future plumbers.
The private high school my kids went to recently announced an initiative to introduce kids to options other than college. The parents are losing their minds over it - they think it takes away from the overall prestige of the school. Therein lies the problem.
Definitely.
You really don’t need to put women in the question. Should anyone that will over-extend themselves due to the cost of college go into the trades, military or law enforcement?
I had a rule in my house for my two kids that if you didn’t go to college they were going to go into the trades or the military. I wasn’t going to let me kids work as a cashier, etc(job instead of a career). If you didn’t want to do that then you could leave at anytime. I would help support a plan in college, military or trades.
But just know this. My Grandfather, Great Uncle, 2 Uncles and my father were all bricklayers. My Dad was not going to let his kids become bricklayers. It is hard work and it takes a toll on your body. Being a bricklayer at 63 after doing it for 40+ years is not fun. You have a pension, but that is about it. My Dad loved golf and he was good, but he couldn’t play after 60.
So my folks made sure we did well in school and went off to college. I took out loans. As stated on other posts my wife and I lived poor for the first 5-6 years of our marriage to pay those loans off. So I took it a step further with my kids that if they were going to go to college loans would almost be non-existent. We got kid 1 through with a Masters with no loans. Kid 2 will for sure get undergrad with no loans.
I would have supported them if they wanted to go into the trades, but we would have had a long talk about the tradeoffs.
I wouldn’t put military service in the category of “the trades”. Certainly there are many women who graduate from college and go on to become military officers, approx 23% in the Air Force and 20% in the Space Force. Very few female officers in the Army, however. There are ways to get your college paid for, like ROTC scholarships and going to an academy (though those are crazy competitive to get in to).
After completing military service, there are many good paying jobs that one has access to, at least as an officer.
I don’t think this should be a gender based question.
If a woman wants to take one of these paths, great. Same thing I’d say to a man.
I will say that I am VERY grateful for people who choose military options, but I would not choose that path for my kids, even though I am aware of positives associated with the military, and worked in that space as a civilian for many years.
ETA - same for law enforcement, except I don’t have any personal experience in that sector.
My nephew really wanted to be a mechanic, but his parents and my in laws pushed him to go to college. He ended up leaving school - well, dropping out due to mental health issues - a couple classes short of a degree. He had to repay loans for an education that interested his parents and grandparents more than it interested him. He has a job now that he likes, so it all turned out okay for him. But my MIL still complains about how he didn’t finish school. My SIL now realizes that maybe he should have been allowed to follow his interests. I’m glad that there is finally “good press” for the trades - for both young men and young women.
No need to go the officer route for the military to provide excellent training in a wide range of well-paying careers. Many enlist and learn to be linguists, communications specialists, aircraft repair experts, logistics support, computer admins, etc.
More woman or more everyone ?
True, however, one can get the military to pay for their college degree. And the reality is, enlisted pay is not great, and when you leave the military as an officer, it is likely that you will obtain a higher paying job than if you were not.
I expect all answers on this forum to be “yes”.
However, there may be some men in or aspiring to those professions who may not want the increased competition from adding more women into those professions, or who prefer their work to be a “male space” where behavior unwelcoming to women would not attract DEI complaints. But these men are likely unrepresented among posters in this forum.
I would do this now if I could!
The Maytag repairman told me that one of the reasons he was behind on his appointments was because of the young men who don’t want this trade. He said the company has been training women in appliance repair. The woman have smaller hands and can get to areas that their male counterparts have difficulty getting into. He said the benefits are good. They get holidays off. The pay is exceptional and there is ALWAYS work available.
I just had new shutters installed. The workers were all in their sixties and I asked them why that was (I have been a regular customer for 35 years!). One said that the younger workers don’t last.
The workers start at 7 am and get off at 4 pm. They are expected to have a strong work ethic. They are provided with company vehicles and get every holiday off. They work 4 days on and 3 days off. They do profit-sharing and get bonuses. They like working for this family-run business because the owners are good to them and give them time off for family events and vacations.
The company volunteers them for Habitat and they get full wages! It’s steady work and the creativity sparks new products. The younger people want the “prestige”.
They are beginning to train women in their 30’s and 40’s in woodwork and have seen single Moms begin to enter the carpentry trade and are encouraging female applicants to apply to their shop who love the wages and benefits! I would love to do this but I’m awful with weight bearing!
Several of the older repair folks we have used are getting old and trying to train younger helpers. Some seem to wash out pretty quickly. The folks we have seen have all been males. Our favorite appliance repair guy just moved to another island recently (fortunately we have not needed his services recently). I believe they’re always quite busy and charge for a visit and for time and labor.
There was certainly an active campaign a few years ago for, “women in STEM,” so I’m not sure why there is some pushback for targeting women in what have been predominately male fields. That’s how STEM is/was.
The only difference I see is that there was probably not a shortage of men in STEM when that encouragement was happening. There is a definitely a shortage of people in trades.
I’m definitely in the more everyone camp. This post is an offshoot from other topics here. I specified young women because females are over represented at colleges and universities, but underrepresented in these fields. A college education is expensive for everyone, and certainly doesn’t guarantee a better wage, or career. Why isn’t there a larger pipeline of young females going directly into these roles?
I agree with your post 100%. I realize CC isn’t exactly the forum to discuss bypassing college and its associated expenses, plus the years of compensation/retirement saving forfeited to attain a degree. That said, I’m hoping to hear perspectives from the lurkers out there that aren’t chasing top 100, 200, or even 300 schools that might have experience with young women being successful in these types of alternative paths.
This is exactly what I’m concerned about. Schools that narrow the perspectives of those they are trusted to educate aren’t doing their jobs. As for parents chasing prestige, if they don’t like it, leave. There’s a great big world out there, and the most successful hedge fund managers are completely paralyzed once their septic system backs up into the house.
STEM is a much more prestigious topic at cocktail parties and tailgates, but it generally requires the upfront investment of a college education. To echo @CollegeNerd67’s point, but with a twist, parent’s can’t adorn the back window of their Tahoe with plumber or electrician stickers.
But to what degree will the job requirements need to change to make these jobs “female friendly”? For example:
It’s great for women if their “smaller hands” are better for “small appliance repair”. Perhaps not so much if they will struggle to install my new washing machine that requires lifting it up 3ft of steps to get to my front door. Of course there are quite a few women who can do that, and some men who can’t. But I would encourage my 120lb daughter to think carefully before considering such jobs.
I could show your 120lb daughter how to use a hand truck. She’d be delivering appliances in no time.
“We got to install microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators, we gotta move these color TVs”
(As Dire Straits pointed out 40 years ago, it’s always been a low status, physically demanding job)