Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

481–490 of 915 posts

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#481

Post by FatActor »

dionidium wrote: post #174
joecot wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a millennial. First we were told that we needed the college degree for a job. Any degree would do. So everyone went and got a college degree, and since so many people had it it wasn't a status symbol anymore, so that wasn't enough to get a good middle class job. And then a bunch of people were told they shouldn't have gotten those degrees and they were worthless. Then we were told to go into STEM. So lots of peop…

> First we were told that we needed the college degree for a job. Any degree would do. Something strange is happening here that I can't quite understand. Jokes about English majors asking if you want fries with that are way older than me and I first started college in 1999. Yes, I heard a persistent low rumbling of "go to college," but the idea that "any degree would do" is alien to me. Of course I knew that some maj…

> are way older than me and I first started college in 1999.

I was told not to major in "underwater basketweaving" in 1983, or otherwise I'd be garbage man--as if that were not one of the most important jobs in a society! It's been the same class-warfare BS for coming up on half a century: demean low paying jobs at all costs for reasons I still don't understand.

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#482

Post by quartesixte »

nullsense wrote: post #220
SoftTalker wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

New home/residential wiring jobs are basically the entry point for electricians. It's about as mindless and simple as it gets. I'm not sure what the licensing requirements are but those are the sorts of jobs that an electrical contractor puts their new/junior people on.

I know nothing about the industry, but out of curiosity... what are considered the more interesting jobs?

Industry and commercial construction got mentioned. But also, the film industry can be an interesting one. Really crazy voltages over there too.

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#483

Post by rayiner »

UncleMeat wrote: post #33

"We need more tradespeople" seems to be an evergreen news article. My brother in law is an electrician. He is paid alright, enough to live on. But there are HUGE downsides. He does not receive health insurance. He does not get paid vacation. In order to match decent white-collar pay, he needs to work overtime. His company pushes hard to get jobs finished fast, causing people to cut safety corners. Many of his coworke…

Define “white collar job.” Answering the phones at a law firm is now a job that requires a four year college degree. But it pays very little compared to a skilled trade.

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#484

Post by quartesixte »

WalterBright wrote: post #282
jjulius wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Football players ruin their bodies through accumulated injuries, not wearing their bodies out. >Do athletes wear their bodies out? I've never heard of that. Isn't "[ruining] their bodies through accumulated injuries" the same thing as wearing their body out?

No, it isn't the same thing. Just like crashing your car isn't the same thing as wearing it out.

As you age your ability to recover from wear and tear decreases and even without catastrophic injury it will catch up to you eventually.

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#485

Post by meetingthrower »

acchow wrote: post #438
meetingthrower wrote: post #360

Man, I'm in PE buying these companies and if you want to get rich in America be competent in skilled trades. If you have a little bit of management skill it is very doable. I've been offering 40 year old high school grads $30M in cash for their companies (and they would get that much again as we are doing rollups and they maintain significant equity.) What is amazing is that these guys just do this again and again. Y…

These companies being acquired - what do they do?

Directional drilling, electrical, road striping, traffic control, etc etc.

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#486

Post by acover »

frankreyes wrote: post #430
ummonk wrote: post #409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m skeptical of the narrative that trades is some great career choice, but "Well if you aren't in one of the good areas you'll get fucked" applies to pretty much every career choice.

For example being a software engineer outside the US, working for a local business, selling to local customers. In Latin America, programmers can make about 10 or 20 times less than in the US.

Why does this happen?

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#487

Post by WalterBright »

2devnull wrote: post #429
brianwawok wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not a good analogy. If I stress my bone hard, it strengthens. This is why someone that runs has heavier / stronger leg bones compares to a coucher. On the car side, every time you bend a piece of metal it gets weaker. It cannot repair itself. It cannot get stronger from use.

No. Cumulative load wrecks you in the long run. Consider how many weightlifters end up with multiple back surgeries. They got stronger for awhile, then they couldn’t walk.

I've been running for 40 years, and lifting for 15. Lifting has virtually eliminated my back pain. Strengthening the muscles helps a lot in preventing injury.

No, I'm not lifting 400 lbs. Weightlifters lift insane weights, does that compare to what physical laborers lift?

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#488

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

xenadu02 wrote: post #479
UncleMeat wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might be a bad area. There aren't better employers in the area. He knows he is being abused. He used to live and work as an electrician in another country where he was treated considerably better. He spends his days wiring new homes that sell for 1.5M+ and gets treated like crap. Moving is unfortunately not an option because my sister's career is very location-dependent. "Well if you aren't in one of the good area…

He should start buying some cheap tools of his own (to start with) and do weekend/night jobs for himself. If he's working on 1.5m homes I guarantee you there are a ton of homeowners who need electrical jobs done. Get on Yelp, ask his customers to leave good reviews, and build a business. There are a ton of niches and other opportunities. For example being available during late hours. In anything like a large or mediu…

If there's one thing that I've learned hanging out on /r/freelance, it's that most people are not cut out to be business owners.

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#489

Post by JamesBarney »

mfer wrote: post #91
UncleMeat wrote: post #33

"We need more tradespeople" seems to be an evergreen news article. My brother in law is an electrician. He is paid alright, enough to live on. But there are HUGE downsides. He does not receive health insurance. He does not get paid vacation. In order to match decent white-collar pay, he needs to work overtime. His company pushes hard to get jobs finished fast, causing people to cut safety corners. Many of his coworke…

This isn't the case for all trades people. It might be a bad area or a bad employer. I've know trades folks who are electricians, plumbers, carpenters, work in road construction, etc. They typically work reasonable hours, have medical, and are paid at or above the median income for where they live. They didn't rack up debt getting into this either. This is not a bad deal for many people.

And they get to start their career 4 years earlier.

Re: The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice with Gen Z

#490

Post by mberning »

I am simultaneously amazed that new homes can be built in any significant quantity and also not surprised at all that new homes in my area are starting at $400k plus. Due to the lack of and cost of labor it’s just not economically feasible to build lower cost starter homes.

This reality becomes painfully obvious if you try to hire the trades to do anything at all. All you get are fly by night operators, no shows, and the insanely expensive brand names.

Post reply on HN