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Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,772,368 times
Reputation: 3587
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frenchy7
That's the point!!!
Wow, so it's worse than I thought! Thanks for the real numbers Sunsprit. Mine were from "hearsay". But I just checked the OFFICIAL numbers on CareerInfoNet. For "Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics" in California in 2006, the median wage was $18.07/hr, with a range from $10.41/hr(10th percentile) to $31.56/hr(90th percentile). And all the ads for employment I see online and in the papers hover around $13/hr, or more likely "DOE". So these six figure mechanics, are they the exception or the rule?
You talked about the great marketplace for "qualified, motivated, competent automotive techs with training, own tools, and experience". The question is, exactly how do you become one of these MASTER techs. And are those six figure opportunities plentiful and sustainable over time?
I think that's the thing with blue collar work: THE PATH. The Path to a high salary white collar career is more standard and well known, whereas for blue collar work it's more nebulous. Every now and then you hear of blue collar workers pulling big bucks but the REALITY for most lacks luster. It's like administrative assistants: there may be a few high-profile six-figure positions, but most are 30K dead-ends.
If anybody has any info on being a BLUE COLLAR STAR in a place like LA, let me know.
If you are going to make any money, you got to run your own business.
good post you got rep. i recently got reprimanded, for posting this essentiallly, same idea. although i was told not to make "blanket statements" akin to this, i am going to risk support for what i am convinced of, is a great idea.
again very good and sensible thinking. its not the color of the collar, its the w-2 an the dollar.
I have always told my kids to do what makes them happy. PERIOD. Whether that's driving a cab or digging a ditch or whatever. Their father feels very differently trying to push them into what he feels are careers he wants for them for prestige, money, he is quite a snob and convinced he knows better than they do. I have told them over and over it's OK to change jobs no matter how many times, change majors, start college and take a break or not finish. It is their life and they need to be happy. I want them to do work they enjoy, really it's their life and they have to live it.
The greatest gift I can give my children is trusting their own instincts, desires, decisions, choices, following what makes them happy, and knowing they are repsonsible for their own decisions, outcomes, consequences, and yes finances and support.
I have always told my kids to do what makes them happy. PERIOD. Whether that's driving a cab or digging a ditch or whatever. Their father feels very differently trying to push them into what he feels are careers he wants for them for prestige, money, he is quite a snob and convinced he knows better than they do. I have told them over and over it's OK to change jobs no matter how many times, change majors, start college and take a break or not finish. It is their life and they need to be happy. I want them to do work they enjoy, really it's their life and they have to live it.
The greatest gift I can give my children is trusting their own instincts, desires, decisions, choices, following what makes them happy, and knowing they are repsonsible for their own decisions, outcomes, consequences, and yes finances and support.
Believe it or not, it might be good for your kids to have both perspectives. My parents were like you, and while I totally appreciate their confidence in me to make my own decisions (and I've done alright) in hindsight, I would have liked them to push me a little in some direction. I'm smart, well educated, and self-motivated, but with a little push from at least one of them, I might have been a lot more productive and/or had the courage to pursue some avenues that I did not have the confidence for. So don't be too hard on your husband. At least one of your kids might find his approach helpful down the road.
That said-I don't think there is anything wrong with my kid not wanting to go to college. I would like her to simply because I don't think there is such a thing as a waste of education, but if she were more interested in making her living in a trade of some sort, I would encourage her and help her be successful in that. My brother went that route. Started college, and just didn't like it. He wanted to do something with his hands. He's now in a carpenters union and LOVES learning this trade.
The only possible value I see in a blue collar career would be the added bonus of giving your children entrepreneurial skills... with the understanding that they are never to consider that permanent employment, and that education is required.
An education isn't simply about finding a career. Higher education is about seeking better understanding and more diverse (and sharpened) tools with which to understand the world and work through it. It's the heart of civilization, and I personally would feel like a complete failure if my children were to forsake that in favor of fixing toilets.
The only possible value I see in a blue collar career would be the added bonus of giving your children entrepreneurial skills... with the understanding that they are never to consider that permanent employment, and that education is required.
An education isn't simply about finding a career. Higher education is about seeking better understanding and more diverse (and sharpened) tools with which to understand the world and work through it. It's the heart of civilization, and I personally would feel like a complete failure if my children were to forsake that in favor of fixing toilets.
Did you consider my post? Also you can move up from within these two jobs I listed without education. At least at UPS.
Did you consider my post? Also you can move up from within these two jobs I listed without education. At least at UPS.
I think I made it clear that "moving up" doesn't matter a whit if one doesn't have a valuable education. Higher education is the basis of civilization, and it is what makes a nation valuable and modern. A population of package-delivering people is not a prosperous nation.
I think I made it clear that "moving up" doesn't matter a whit if one doesn't have a valuable education. Higher education is the basis of civilization, and it is what makes a nation valuable and modern. A population of package-delivering people is not a prosperous nation.
But someone has to deliver packages and not everyone is capable of getting a college education, including myself. I'm tired of being judged, just because I don't have a piece of paper with "MBA" written on it.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,772,368 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fnix
UPS drivers make $70,000 a year if they've been driving for about 5 years and thats with no degree. Is that considered blue collar?
Oil worker can break the $100,000 mark and thats with no education as well.
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.
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