The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Trade school?
JWFokker
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
After cutting way too many classes during my senior year in high school (2001-2002), working full time for several years, getting a GED along the way and eventually attempting to go back to college only to find that I still dislike the cost and bullshit associated with that sort of thing, I've come to the conclusion that trade school may be my best bet for increasing my potential income beyond the ~$25,000-30,000 range.
Does anyone have any advice regarding the trades? I've yet to find any reliable resources online. Most search results were vague, bullshit generalizations or associated with some trade school trying to recruit students. I'd like to know what trades pay reasonably well and are in demand, especially if they're IT related, and what is the optimal means of getting into that line of work. As I understand it, many trades require apprenticeships, which are limited in supply and in high demand. I don't mind doing physical work, but if it's going to be a career for me, plumbing and carpentry is not something I'd want to do when I'm over 50, though electrical work does not seem to be as physically punishing. Designing/installing/managing network systems seems like an ideal mix of physical labor and IT, but I don't know what that occupation is called or whether it pays well.
tl;dr - I need trade or trade school advice because no one I know has any useful input. The only people I know working trades got into the business through family. I don't have that luxury.
Does anyone have any advice regarding the trades? I've yet to find any reliable resources online. Most search results were vague, bullshit generalizations or associated with some trade school trying to recruit students. I'd like to know what trades pay reasonably well and are in demand, especially if they're IT related, and what is the optimal means of getting into that line of work. As I understand it, many trades require apprenticeships, which are limited in supply and in high demand. I don't mind doing physical work, but if it's going to be a career for me, plumbing and carpentry is not something I'd want to do when I'm over 50, though electrical work does not seem to be as physically punishing. Designing/installing/managing network systems seems like an ideal mix of physical labor and IT, but I don't know what that occupation is called or whether it pays well.
tl;dr - I need trade or trade school advice because no one I know has any useful input. The only people I know working trades got into the business through family. I don't have that luxury.
JWFokker on
0
Posts
It is labor intensive but I have short term and long term disability, 401k, life insurance, continuing education allowance. Also the automtive trade has what the call a "flat rate pay system". Say I make 17 dollars an hour. Each job you perform is paid out in tenths of an hour for example an oil change may pay .5 which is a half hour and a full brake job may pay 3 hours. The beauty of this is is say you do that brake job and it only took you 30 minutes, you still get paid for 3 hours. Some days you can turn in upwards of 12-16 hours for 8 hours of actual work.
Again it's also a trade I can take anywhere and make money.
You aren't going to have much luck finding one of these gigs with a GED.
Sorry
Trade schools are abound for Electricians, Automotive, Carpentry, Culinary, Driving, Media/Art, etc. These are more hands on and direct - they get you ready to work, as opposed to more theoretical approach.
The word you need to Google is the word Apprenticeship. You will learn under a Journeyman or Master tradesman via a combo of On-the-job Training & a few classes here and there.
Once you complete your Apprenticeship, you become a Journeyman - usually through a certification process that is an accepted standard in your field.
After Journeyman, you work towards being a Master Craftsman - again, usually through a certification process that’s accepted in your field.
Apprentices don't make much, Journeymen make livable wages, Masters tend to live comfortably.
Hmmm, define "not much," "livable" and "live comfortably?" A surveyor's apprentice in California makes $40k after 6 months and it only goes up from there, until at Journeyman level you make $80k and Party Chiefs make $91k. Electrician apprentices start even higher, I believe, and top out around the same. I suspect it's comparable across the country in relation to one's respective cost of living.
In contrast, I'm fairly comfortable right now (IMO) at $40k in my non-trade profession. If I could make $50k I'd be smiling. At $80k, mama's getting a pool! (or something.)
You're right, it depends on your location and situation. But then, I don't think I'd have to tell you that there are even places in California right now where 40k would buy you a shed to live out of.
So yeah - don't take my generalizations as Gospel, just what it is...a generalization.
If you want the option to work in residential or commercial situations as opposed to in a factory, go plumbing or electrical. If you have a good head for math, go electrical and later on take electronics classes. If you just want to make a bunch of money and don't care about hard work and like to sweat, and you either live in an industrial town or are willing to move, learn welding or become a machinist.
Culinary is okay but it's still hard work and you're very unlikely to do as well as an electrician, plumber, machinist or welder.
And believe it or not, there are jobs for all of those in any major city.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Linework is always in demand, too, but it's probably one of the most physically demanding trades so it might not be what he's looking for.
Edit: I'm not entirely sure the IBEW will take you without a high school diploma, though.
Except not in Southern California. Seriously, don't come to Southern California, there is no work in any of those trades here. We had electricians and plumbers showing up to test for Surveying, saying they can't find work. And the surveyors can't find work, either. Stay awayyyyy from SoCal.
I can't speak for anywhere else, though!
Especially in riverside, what you're seeing are casualties of the last twenty years of the collapse of manufacturing, and more recently the housing bubble.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Yeah, but the trade unions cover all of SoCal and it's this bad in LA and Orange counties too.
Edit: But I hear Texas is doing very well for trades, and needs electricians in particular.
I'm healthy and in good shape now, but my concern is being able to continue doing the work for a long time. I'd like to have a career that isn't too physically demanding when I get old (50+). I know plumbers who are getting up there in years, and they complain about being in pain more often than a person should, because the job has worn out their bodies.
I've heard that linemen do get paid well, especially with overtime, but I wouldn't want to do that forever.
The bullshit that I couldn't stand were the unnecessary prerequisites and extraneous courses to give someone a "well rounded" education. I don't mind the academic approach, and I breeze through math classes, but the non-pertinent subjects were agony for me. I just don't have the patience for it.
I know a network engineer who basically started out at entry level programming right out of high school, switched to IT and worked his way up in various companies. Of course when he was making a career, that path was more common. These days, with all the candidates with CS and IS degrees out there, it would be much more difficult.
People who manage to advance in IT without a college degree usually do so because they're really good. It's definitely not something everyone can do, and if you haven't started down that path already on your own initiative, it's probably not going to happen.
Family friend is an Elevator electrician and he's loaded
I will also say don't be a carpenter
Electrician is also a good idea.
You could also consider being a medical technician. Gonna be a lot of old mofos pretty soon.
Also on Steam and PSN: twobadcats
My primary concern is potential income, and that doesn't strike me as one where there is a lot of room for advancement. Am I wrong assuming that once you're a medical tech, there isn't a higher position that you can aspire to? At least with some of the other trades you can start your own business or become a foreman.
A couple of good friends of mine are radiology techs and my girlfriend is doing a medical lab tech program right now. This is in Canada, so things may be different where you live, but they make good money starting out (around $50K a year to start) and there are opportunities to advance. It's possibly to specialize and become an expert in one particular area and move into a higher pay bracket. They also have opportunities to go into management. Another possibility is working in sales for the companies that sell the equipment, which can be extremely lucrative, or work on the service side of the equipment (not as lucrative as sales but still very well compensated). It's also possible to partner up with an MD and start your own clinic in some areas and fields.
Also on Steam and PSN: twobadcats