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So we would be a society with a void of welders, machinists, HVAC techs, Electricans, mechanics, construction workers, plumbers, bridge builders, ect. All those jobs you don't need a bachelors degree but are vital for a society. I don't want to live in a country where no one can come fix my air conditioning or wire my house, or fix my plumbing. A society full of people with bachelors degrees and a lack of trades wouldn't be a very good society.
Most people in the trades got into it because they want to and college doesn't interest them. College sets you up for a job in a office sitting at a desk dressed in formal business attire and that's not an interest of most tradesman.
I was always awful doing any kind of work with my hands, In fact I usually would end up making things worse. Most of the guys I grew up with who went into the trades were always building stuff or taking apart cars from a very early age. I did go to college, but the degree did not help me at all with getting my current job which I kind of fell into it.
I don't know anyone who works with just their hands. You need education in the trades to know what to do with your hands. I'm an electrician i do a lot of work with my hands and a lot of work with my brain.
In reality people with degrees work with their hands an awful lot pressing keys all day on the computer, playing on smart phones, making phone calls, making copies, faxes, tps report cover sheets...
I notice a lot of hate for the welfare society but I think it's beneficial for the educated/ambitious to have a "weaker" class of people. Yes, we pay for their food and housing but we are helped by the fact that there's less competition for jobs, upscale housing and even romantic partners. The money you pay is minimal to have less people vying for your lifestyle
Do you think A- the country would be better off with everyone being educated and in the work force
B- your personal situation would be better
It would make the degree meaningless. Look at a HS diploma. Or a AA. They are basically a resume filler
You still need people to do all the jobs that are done without a degree.
This is why I don't believe in free college.... If you had good grades you can get a scholarship otherwise go into a trade... Be a plumber or diesel mechanic. Maybe if people stopped going colleges would cut costs and reduce fees to be more competitive. Why every program and public institution in the US has to have all the extra layers of bloat....
Except that the US doesn't need a few million or even a few thousand more plumbers or diesel mechanics than already go into the field every year. The reason they are relatively well-paid is that supply and demand is balanced out slightly higher on the demand side.
Except that the US doesn't need a few million or even a few thousand more plumbers or diesel mechanics than already go into the field every year. The reason they are relatively well-paid is that supply and demand is balanced out slightly higher on the demand side.
Right. But we have an excess of college grads now, so now the trend is for everyone to run to the trades.
I think the problem today is that we don't have much unskilled or semiskilled work that pays a livable wage like we did in the past to absorb excess workers. This is why I'm such a supporter of basic income.
There are not enough jobs to go around anymore, especially jobs that pay livable wages.
I don't know anyone who works with just their hands. You need education in the trades to know what to do with your hands. I'm an electrician i do a lot of work with my hands and a lot of work with my brain.
In reality people with degrees work with their hands an awful lot pressing keys all day on the computer, playing on smart phones, making phone calls, making copies, faxes, tps report cover sheets...
A lot of engineers will do a lot of thinking work and computer work but will also do physical work to build prototypes or build the specialized instruments needed to build what was designed but the physical work portion tends to be a minimum amount of the time. It is more cost effective for the engineer to spend extra time double checking numbers and design parameters before costly materials are consumed in a design.
I am slow to actually start cutting metal or stringing wire unless I know exactly what I am doing. Then there is the material selection process itself which can be extremely tedious, do you use aluminum, copper or some exotic synthetic, do we invest in seeking out some new material, etc.
Except that the US doesn't need a few million or even a few thousand more plumbers or diesel mechanics than already go into the field every year. The reason they are relatively well-paid is that supply and demand is balanced out slightly higher on the demand side.
There is a major shortage of skilled trades people. More then half of the skilled trades workforce is over 45 years old and about 20% of that half is 55 and over. It gets worse every year because young people are not entering the trades. I'm 39 been in the trades since high school and i predict in the next 15-20 years there will be a massive shortage and the contractors that are still in business will charge a premium price for their services.
There is a major shortage of skilled trades people. More then half of the skilled trades workforce is over 45 years old and about 20% of that half is 55 and over. It gets worse every year because young people are not entering the trades. I'm 39 been in the trades since high school and i predict in the next 15-20 years there will be a massive shortage and the contractors that are still in business will charge a premium price for their services.
That's why I am collecting up certifications so that if I get cross with a contractor I can tell them to take a hike and not have it negatively effect me. Contractors and trades people can be real pieces of work, not all but its not rare either. I cringe when a supplier requires me to work with a contractor in order to get a warrenty or for some insurance reason, I know that it will be a fight and a boondoggle.
I can do my own wiring, plumbing, aircraft repair, tig welding, machining, etc. The only thing I am not super good at is wood work but I am going to have my step dad teach me as the cost to have a desk made is 5 figures these days.
That's why I am collecting up certifications so that if I get cross with a contractor I can tell them to take a hike and not have it negatively effect me. Contractors and trades people can be real pieces of work, not all but its not rare either. I cringe when a supplier requires me to work with a contractor in order to get a warrenty or for some insurance reason, I know that it will be a fight and a boondoggle.
I can do my own wiring, plumbing, aircraft repair, tig welding, machining, etc. The only thing I am not super good at is wood work but I am going to have my step dad teach me as the cost to have a desk made is 5 figures these days.
That's why it's a "boondoggle" for you to deal with contractors. Nobody cares that you think you can do what we do nearly every day and the right way. Every career has rudimentary tasks that most people can do even your job. I can shoot a jump shot but i'm not in the NBA, i can do my own taxes but i'm not an accountant, i can take my own temperature but i'm not a nurse...i can go on and on.
The assumption here is that more education and ambition amongst others would predispose you to less.
What if it opened more opportunities because thinking developed beyond pre-conceived current ideas?
What would it look like if education and safety were provided to all citizens?
Perhaps more flourishing for everyone.
Perhaps less flourishing for everyone. If the bar was lowered (or raised) to a point where everyone could easily attain it, don't you see how this would be counter-productive to society? If everyone was certified to be a heart surgeon. What do you think would happen to the medical field? If everyone became a teacher, or a lawyer, or an accountant. The job market would be in disarray, we would still have the same amount of unemployed, as there is not enough jobs to go around. The quality of workers would not increase, wages would fall as competition increased, and the whole system would crash before long.
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