Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just watched an interview with Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs show) and he said that for people who want to be prepared for the coming decade(s) they should get trained in jobs like Electrician,Plumber,PipeFitter,Steam Fitter,Welder as these jobs cannot be outsourced or automated easily (if at all) and people who do learn these jobs can "write their own tickets" at this point.
Just watched an interview with Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs show) and he said that for people who want to be prepared for the coming decade(s) they should get trained in jobs like Electrician,Plumber,PipeFitter,Steam Fitter,Welder as these jobs cannot be outsourced or automated easily (if at all) and people who do learn these jobs can "write their own tickets" at this point.
Welding is automated. Look at robotic welders on production lines. The other trades are good....if you run the business
Just watched an interview with Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs show) and he said that for people who want to be prepared for the coming decade(s) they should get trained in jobs like Electrician,Plumber,PipeFitter,Steam Fitter,Welder as these jobs cannot be outsourced or automated easily (if at all) and people who do learn these jobs can "write their own tickets" at this point.
I volunteer with the my local Habitat for Humanity every Saturday and grew up in the 70's and 80's helping my Dad do some small home improvement projects and learned the basics of carpentry, plumbing, electrical, dry walling etc.
Fast forward to today and I'm amazed (I guess I shouldn't be) when fraternities from a local college come out to help and guys (about 80% of them) who are 18, 19, 20 years old have never swung a hammer in their lives! I'm not saying that knowing how to swing a hammer is a "life skill", but instead of learning some basic carpentry/plumbing/electrical skills which can save some money to fix/create things in their future homes, they would just spend money for someone else to do it.
So, I agree with Rowe, seeing it first hand that these younger generations will be keeping these carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. (who choose that profession) having great job security and paid quite well for infinity. They still haven't been able to invent that robot carpenter or robot plumber or robot electrician yet! Although working along side a robot framer, building a house with Habitat, would be kind of cool to see.
Fast forward to today and I'm amazed (I guess I shouldn't be) when fraternities from a local college come out to help and guys (about 80% of them) who are 18, 19, 20 years old have never swung a hammer in their lives! .
Not only that, but many of them can't change the oil in their car either, or cook a simple meal (the chef in the frat house cooks for them).
Welding is automated. Look at robotic welders on production lines. The other trades are good....if you run the business
Welding in some factories is automated, outside of that nope. Still done by humans until a robot that can get itself to the job site, figure out the job then do the job is developed.
In other words AI and then the tech...
If you want to drop 4-5 grand on tools for pay they made 20 years ago and work mega hours you can become a machinist. (This is what I am)
Plumber, thats great n all untill your crawling around under a house in somebodys else's excrament. New construction plumbing might not be so bad.
Hvac sounds cool untill your either freezing or sweating your ****s off because you have to install a furnace or repair the air. Crawling under houses or in the attic to install venting don't sound fun.
Welding is not to bad untill you realize you have to dress like it's winter out but in the summer to keep from getting radiation burn and burned from the hot sparks. The pay can be pretty good IF you get certified or get into a non production shop. Welding in a production shop can be miserable for little pay.
Mechanic can be a good paying job but a lot of the non dealer shops around here usually dont have heat on so your cold in the winter. Then you have a ton of tools to invest in. Dealing with todays cars can be a pain to cuz they jam everything in a tiny area. Then you have the ppl that think because your the last one to touch their car that obviously the totally unrelated thing that is going bad is your fault.
Construction can pay good but it can be back breaking work especially when your the low man on the totem pole. Best bet is to try to get into the union doing commercial work. Tool investment has to be considered like most other trades. Residential construction will having you doing all sorts of stuff but when your older your body will be beat.
These are just some of the possible negitives of some of the trades. Its real easy to think about all of the good aspects but its more important to know the bad aspects that you will have to deal with day to day.
Trade jobs would be nice if they paid well to compensate for the damages it does to your body. People flock to white collar jobs because they pay better and don't wreck your body, which sadly creates an overflow of employees.
I've wasted over ten years of my life running wire, fixing ACs, and doing random maintenance jobs gaining "experience" and it's not good enough for other companies to hire and train me to do more involved work. Plus, these dirty jobs don't pay well unless you're in management, i.e., sitting in an office giving orders and micromanaging at times, and worrying about hiring and finances, you have far more responsibility. Not the grunt doing the actual work, don't let people fool you. There might be the lucky few that make good money, but they're the exception.
Also, the quality of some of the people employ get on my nerves. At the risk of stereotyping, I'm not a fan of the f-bomb dropping redneck/drunk, or the know-it-all d-bag who talks down to the juniors who want to learn (get over yourself, this isn't the army), the senior slacker who dumps every responsibility on your lap and you get all the blame when the project goes bad. I've worked with these people, and remember I've done this sort of work for a DECADE. And I'm done with it as far as I'm concerned.
If they're screaming for potential employees then they need to sweeten the pot and offer proper compensation.
X2! It sucks when you're hurting laying im bed trying to go to sleep. Then you wake up and you're hurtning even worse. These jobs don't compensate for the wear and tear your body feels years down the road after you've quit and gone somewhere else. The aches and pains will linger long after you're done with the job. Auto mechanics IMO have got to be one of the worst industries for this.
If you want to drop 4-5 grand on tools for pay they made 20 years ago and work mega hours you can become a machinist. (This is what I am)
Plumber, thats great n all untill your crawling around under a house in somebodys else's excrament. New construction plumbing might not be so bad.
Hvac sounds cool untill your either freezing or sweating your ****s off because you have to install a furnace or repair the air. Crawling under houses or in the attic to install venting don't sound fun.
Welding is not to bad untill you realize you have to dress like it's winter out but in the summer to keep from getting radiation burn and burned from the hot sparks. The pay can be pretty good IF you get certified or get into a non production shop. Welding in a production shop can be miserable for little pay.
Mechanic can be a good paying job but a lot of the non dealer shops around here usually dont have heat on so your cold in the winter. Then you have a ton of tools to invest in. Dealing with todays cars can be a pain to cuz they jam everything in a tiny area. Then you have the ppl that think because your the last one to touch their car that obviously the totally unrelated thing that is going bad is your fault.
Construction can pay good but it can be back breaking work especially when your the low man on the totem pole. Best bet is to try to get into the union doing commercial work. Tool investment has to be considered like most other trades. Residential construction will having you doing all sorts of stuff but when your older your body will be beat.
These are just some of the possible negitives of some of the trades. Its real easy to think about all of the good aspects but its more important to know the bad aspects that you will have to deal with day to day.
Well, I guess if you want no downside to work you could just hit the lottery or go on welfare?
Point is, EVERY job has it's downsides both physical and mental. There is NO job that is completely safe.
As for machinist, if you open your own machine shop and get government contracts like my sons 24 year old friend did you can do very,very well.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
