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We're probably among the last "professions" that doesn't require a college degree and it's actually surprising how many never attended.
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How do you outsource that?
So the job I referenced isn't for everyone and in my mind it takes a special breed of cat to fill it. But I know the company and, simply knowing what I know, for the right person it's definitely worth going after because it has a good future.
That said I find it a good profession to be in.
Thank you for the correction, I might never have seen that unless brought to my attention. Also, thanks for the large amount of information. Perhaps there is too much education required for such a job.
Well, I'd recommend stay out of your area. Hamburger bagger wages for those skills? Unheard of anywhere I've been. Maybe an exaggeration? Maybe just a little?
BTW by auto mechanic I don't mean the oil change bay at Walmart. I mean a real mechanic.
Everybody I know in HVAC (not the helper) has a 3000 sq ft home and most have a 32' swimming pool in that yard. It's "formula" everywhere I've lived.
Admittedly, "my area" is the upper midwest which is going to pay less than either coast so the average I linked above is a little higher than what I said, but not a lot.
As to the HVAC job, what do you think you get to start at $50k per year as a first year apprentice fresh out of high school? That's just not how it works. Sure, the guys with 10 years or more of experience are making great money, that's why I said $40/hr. If they've got a specific niche it can be higher.
I'm thinking that there's a number of people in this thread that are still in school, be it high school or college. I knew lots of people in college too that thought they were going to make $60k per year starting out on the job. I've talked to a number of HR people that have great stories of fresh graduates coming in and asking for $75k a year. Not many people hit that point though. You're most likely going to start out making "hamburger bagger" wages or a shade higher, that's just life.
Frankly, it doesn't really matter what career path you start down. If you want the degree in art history, get the degree in art history. Accept that you aren't going to make piles of cash in your 20s but look for ways to advance in your chosen field. Your work ethic, creative application of your skills, ambition, and resiliency are going to have far more impact on your lifetime earning potential than which program you go to school for.
This is true. The foreign part at least. I've come across incompetent people of all ethnicities though.
Many of them come from countries with average IQ's of 80. IQ aside, many of them also have trouble or incapability with following rules and appropriate workplace behavior.
I work as a wastewater treatment plant operator. It's not for everyone but it pays VERY well (more in some places than others). I have good benefits and a retirement. It is a very under the radar career and very "gray". By that...I mean that a majority of the workers are getting up there in age and are approaching retirement. We have OT like crazy because we can't find enough trained workers to stay fully staffed. It is like that just about everywhere.
Water (both clean water for drinking and proper disposal of waste water) are absolutely necessary for our modern civilization to continue. It is also interesting (to me at least). Nice mixture of math, biology, chemistry, regulatory work, construction, and some manual labor thrown in. You don't need a college degree but I did have a B.S degree (environmental science). You do need to go through an Operator in Training period (basically an apprenticeship) and pass several state licensing exams.
For boys: either plumber, AC/HVAC, or auto mechanic ("Mr Goodwrench"). You can't go wrong. The intellect required to learn and succeed among these various jobs includes almost anybody.
Why would any of those trades be relegated to boys only?
Something portable between geographic areas and that must be done on site. Not only the trades, but think many health care occupations like nursing and pharmacy.
I really would have to recommend a skills trade, or even just other blue collar work like truck driving, operator, production person (through robotics might get rid of these positions in the future)
With such a big push though for people to get Bachelor degrees and master degrees, I feel like skilled trades are being forgotten about. Working in a skilled trade isn't easy work, and there won't be any real possibility of a cushy job down the road, but really the hard work is rewarded with respectable pay, union benefits, and job security. You also have ample opportunity to start your own business with a trade. I think there is already a bit of a shortage. I live in a suburban sized town and plumbers, HVAC pros, mechanics, pest control pros, etc are booked to the brim with clients and work. Plumbers in our town charge about $100/hour on average! If you go Union, you get all paid training and education, get trained further as an apprentice, then usually after 3-4 years will become a journeyman where starting wages are usually around $30/hour, more for some fields. My father in law was a union iron worker and his final wage before he retired at 60 was $60/hour and he wasn't even a foreman. He just welded. Foreman were earning a bit more. He also got a pension because of his union and has really solid benefits.
The trades are hard work, but for those not looking for that chance of some 200k cushy office job, it's a really respectable and solid way to earn a very decent living and retire comfortably.
Many of them come from countries with average IQ's of 80. IQ aside, many of them also have trouble or incapability with following rules and appropriate workplace behavior.
I'm going to assume that none of that is verifiable but anecdotes used to prove generalizations aren't my thing. I'll leave it there.
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