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

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

#501

Post by teeray »

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #384
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…

Who told you any degree would do? People have lambasted underwater basket waving and things like that forever.

Not parent commenter, but I heard the same at the time and thought it was lunacy. The justification was “well, [relative/friend/aquaintance] has a great job in sales at megacorp and their degree is in experimental theology.”

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

#502

Post by uses »

Ancalagon wrote: post #4

Same labor shortage as everywhere that the government likes to pretend doesn't exist. 10 million working-age men can't or won't work. Of the ones willing to work, almost none want to spend their time learning skills for back-breaking, barely-middle class skills jobs which they'll be forced to retire from at 55 because their knees give out. Same answer for the shortage as everywhere that the economists don't want to h…

What? Those are exactly the type of solutions economists would prescribe.

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

#503

Post by rybosworld »

"Youtube university" has most definitely had an effect. Particularly in regards to the lack of pay increase in the trades.

My toilet is leaking? 10 years ago I'd call a plumber. Now I diagnose the problem and determine if it's within my skill level to learn the repair (it usually is). For me, this wouldn't be feasible without online how-to videos.

A plumber/carpenter/electrician will charge me $50-$100/hr for work that I can do myself for just the cost of parts. The cost savings really adds up over the years. Not to mention, I'm getting increasingly self-sufficient as time goes on and I become more confident doing larger repairs and projects.

Most of my friends and acquaintances have fallen into the same path.

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

#504

Post by alar44 »

falcolas wrote: post #219
rednerrus wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the reality of all jobs where you work for someone else. You're selling your time, and your body to someone else.

Sure, but the wear-and-tear on your brain from an office job will always be significantly lower (and thus remain a viable job for much longer) than a job in the figurative or literal trenches.

I don't know about that. Stress is a fuckin killer and it wraps it's tentacles around other areas of your life.

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

#505

Post by WalterBright »

rightbyte wrote: post #353
WalterBright wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure how your body parts wear out. 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. How does doing plumbing/electricioning wear your body out?

> How does doing plumbing/electricioning wear your body out? Electrictions can work over their head with screw drivers for weeks at an end. There are plenty of bad working positions for their body.

I got sick of that myself and got an electric screwdriver, which helped a lot. Keep in mind that I did all the low voltage wiring in the house myself, it was a couple thousand feet of wire. A lot of it was overhead work - boring holes in the joists, etc. I wouldn't say it was pleasant, and lifting that heavy 90 degree Milwaukee drill was a chore.

But I did figure the electricians knew what they were doing, so I watched them. I bought the same tools they used, and went to work.

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

#506

Post by standardUser »

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #384
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…

Who told you any degree would do? People have lambasted underwater basket waving and things like that forever.

Lots of entry-level office jobs want a 4-year degree so they know the candidate can read and write at a sufficient level.

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

#507

Post by vl »

rybosworld wrote: post #503

"Youtube university" has most definitely had an effect. Particularly in regards to the lack of pay increase in the trades. My toilet is leaking? 10 years ago I'd call a plumber. Now I diagnose the problem and determine if it's within my skill level to learn the repair (it usually is). For me, this wouldn't be feasible without online how-to videos. A plumber/carpenter/electrician will charge me $50-$100/hr for work th…

But event if you would want to hire someone, good luck finding somebody to show up for a small job!

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

#508

Post by jongjong »

I'm not surprised. It doesn't make sense to work for regular hard-working people. Just work for money printer recipients, it pays better... Big finance, big tech, big pharma, big law, big consulting...

Regular people work hard for their money and therefore they don't part with it easily... You don't want a job where you'll end up working for regular people. Money printer recipients had it easy so they toss suitcases of full of cash at you. That's the kind of customers you want.

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

#509

Post by uses »

anonreeeeplor wrote: post #348

I would love some of the journalists who write these article to volunteer to take these jobs by quitting and becoming plumbers. Why don’t they do it? Because sitting in a nice cozy chair and having opinions backed by nothing is much higher social status. It’s like this constant gas lighting from elite sources: “Hey can’t buy a house? How about being knee deep in toilets all day and having zero respect in society.”

Ah, more journalist hate. Let's blame the journalist for writing a well-researched, thorough article citing multiple primary sources, because it tells us facts we don't like. It's gas lighting by the elites after all! This is why, whenever I read an article about anything, I blame the gas lighting elite journalists in their cozy chairs with their opinions backed by nothing. Those damned journalists, always reporting things.

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

#510

Post by AlbertCory »

I think "this is what I was told" is a poor excuse these days. Information on jobs & careers is more available than it ever was in your day, or your father's, or his father's. At one time in the distant past, a B.S. in English might give you an advantage in the publishing industry, but those days are gone. If you got a degree without thinking about what comes after, that's on you.
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