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Yes with lots of overtime. Same with the telephone company outside craft people. Do you know how hard those jobs are to get? They probably have 10,000 applicants for every job.
I have one of those and they arent that hard to get
Electrician and plumber are good only if you can get a union gig and then only after a 5 year apprenticeship period.
Spoken like somebody who doesn't really have a clue about these professions. Where are you talking about? Some areas are strong union, some are not. Even in strong union states there are plenty of non-union contractors in either profession. In general, Yes they do hire, yes they do pay better than average for the respective areas. No it isn't easy to get a job as either an Electrician or a plumber because there is just so many jobs an area can handle, and there is just so many a contractor can hire. Just the same as any job or profession, either white or blue collar. The union apprenticeship period is 5 years, yes. A regular apprenticeship is 4 years, then if you also meet the minimum amount of on the job hours, you can go test for your journeyman license. Another 2 years or 4000 hours and you can go test for your Masters. This is in general for all the states I am aware of.
The only 2 blue collar trades I would recommend to any kid are either Automotive mechanic or body tech OR HVAC tech. Those both are fairly secure and they pay decently.
I'd add electrical. 1) we can't do anything without electrical and 2) unlike plumbing and some of the other trades the high tech industry has impacted the need for more skilled workers.
DH works on medium and high voltage electrical and there's a shortage of workers qualified to work on 15kV equipment. We've got one kid working for us who started out as a "green" helper trying to make enough cash to pay for his car. Now he realizes the potential and has asked DH to mentor him. DH is 50 and in the top handful of guys with his skill set. And he's the youngest of that group with no real up and comers behind him.
It's a specialty within the trade but it's also one that hasn't been impacted by the economy as much as other trades. Even if new construction slows, equipment that is falling apart (or blown up) will need to be maintained, repaired or replaced.
When I have kids I'd just tell them what my dad told me.
After a while its gonna be work and you're going to hate going in.
Find something else you enjoy.
Find something that will let you make time for your family.
I'd rather have a happy, smart, self reliant carpenter or plumber for a child, vs. an overworked doctor who gets divorced because they never see their spouse.
I tried teaching hated it after 2 years. Way to overworked and never paid enough to do more than live hand to mouth.
I'm going into the medical field and I'm deciding against being a doctor because the hours expected of them for the residency would mean my fiance and I would never see each other. Enough doctors I have met said they wish they had done something else that I've decided its not worth destroying myself. How can I help people if I'm a shattered emotional wreck?
Just whatever they do, get good at it and charge a fair wage. Be honest.
Be careful being a doctor. You will rack up in excess of $100,000+ in student loans and all the other BS. And dont even get me started on starting your own practice. It's not something you do for a few years to get rich. It will take you years just to get out of debt again.
But if you do it over your whole life thats another story.
Given the rising popularity of gambling I would suggest blackjack dealer. The hours are lousy and you have to deal with crazy people but it is indoor work and you never have to restore high voltage power lines in a blizzard.
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