With my college degree basically doing nothing for me at this point, I have been thinking about going back to school and pursuing a trade. I was wondering what are some trades that you recommend?
All trades are interesting, a good valuable skills to have.
Doing your own labor doesn’t make you wealthy. Paying other people below the value of their labor is how you make money. Or convince your parents to die off wealthy…
Electrician. Everyone needs an electrician.
In Western countries, anything relate to house maintenance. Since inflation is posed to increase far more in services like plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc., it is good to known the basics. It is really not that complicated and the tools required can be justified just by no calling a professional even the first time. Now, do not cheap out in doing a good work, you may no realize it now, but it pays to do so. There is so much content online on how to do something it is really easy nowadays… and you partner will admire you like you never though possible!
If you’re decent at math and physics and are even remotely handy, you can probably get into a data center or power plant. Both industries are growing like crazy while boomers and older Gen x are retiring.
It took a long while as a contractor, but I eventually got a job as an operator in a power plant. The rotating shift work can be rough, and some days are really demanding, but it’s overall not too bad usually and it pays well. Outside operators here start at like $40/hour. My water treatment specialty has gotten me a promotion and raises so now I’m at like $53.50/hour. If I can continue training and pass the test and board for it, I could make over $60/hour as a control room operator. With built-in OT and scheduled maintenance outages demanding even more OT, it’s impossible to not break $100k/year here. With bonus, I might break $150k this year.
Brush up on chiller loops, chemistry 101, physics 101, NATO phonetic alphabet, get 15k steps in a day, and change the oil in your car. If that’s pretty easy for you, there’s a career waiting for you lol.
i like being an electrician (low volt, basically stuff that carries some sort of data), unionized work gives a nice sense of comraderie and a great pool of knowledge on structure of jobs and contractors. a lot of the work is indoors too and the pay and benefits are great
Electrician 100% and it’s really fun too.
I’m a software dev and that would be my backup trade as it scratches every intellectual itch if you work on more complex setups as well as mechanical fulfillment as you actually see your work published. The community is huge and the demand will almost never decline. The only downside that it’s not very mobile but still much more mobile than most other trades.
Wdym by mobile?
I almost went into the low voltage field, but realized with a bit of job shadowing that my commutes could be unpaid and unpredictable between changing jobsites. I guess that depends on the employer, and goes for any construction-related trade.
Electricians make good money and the work is mostly clean.
Plumbers make great money and the work is mostly disgusting.
Really it depends on your threshold for gross and how much physical labor you are willing to do yourself.
Electricians often have to crawl in crawlspaces under homes and in attics.
The trend seems to be hiding heating units so they’re out of sight.
I said mostly clean. Yeah you gotta deal with dust, cobwebs and the occasional mouse or whatever, but it’s better than getting literally shit sprayed all over you.
Indeed. Although electrician is a broad category. My first thought was a lineman.
So, Geodad… Geodad, right? So Geodad, today’s your first day with us and what you’re going to be doing is changing a lightbulb. Nope, that’s it, just the lightbulb, then you get to go home. Cushy? I guess.
Ok, I’m going to drive you over to the tower- what? Yeah, the KRDK-TV tower. Light’s at the top. Just climb to top there and swap out the bulb.
Just a couple of things: There’s no caging once you get up a ways so you’re just climbing on the outside. This being your first time, you should clip in. It gets gusty up there. Second if you hear a helicopter locate its direction. If it’s above you, climb down. If it’s below, hang on tight and say your hail Marys - you signed the waiver, right? Good, good.
Just a lightbulb, today. I’ll be back to pick you up later this afternoon when you get back down. Have fun!
Electrician here. One thing I will say, in times of inclement economic weather (like now), service plumber stay busy. People are likely not going to not fix a leak, blocked drain, or a heater/AC problem. People will run an extension cord if an outlet stops working or get creative if a light goes out. From what I’ve seen, many views plumbing as a more pertinent issue to resolve than electrical issues. But, as OP said, I’ll take electrical all day over dealing with poo.
Linemen for the power company will always stay busy regardless of the economy, and it pays stupid well. The guys in my town clear $200k with storm shifts.
Linemen for the power company will always stay busy regardless of the economy, and it pays stupid well.
My boss is a former lineman; he quit because there was a lot of bullshit dealing with the power company. I gather that the pay in my area wasn’t that great either. When storms roll through, shifts are going to be long and brutal.
Water system operator. Just get your certs
I’d go for car mechanic. No idea if specializing in trucks or farming stuff would be more lucrative, though the latter is not viable if you don’t live near farms anyway.
Electrician (lineman). Somewhat dangerous work, both due to inclement weather and the nature of high voltage lines, but it pays buckets
Any insights about locksmithing? Aside, of course, from odd hours
I’d also like to hear about the journey toward being a master carpenter.
My friend is a locksmith and if your area is not overcrowded and you can keep a good company running it’s really good. People pay a lot of money to get back into their car at 6am but also every building needs a lock and the locks need maintenance.
It’s a real business though as the trade aspect of cutting a key or opening a door isn’t difficult at all. The challenge is running business, accounting and all the certifications and associated protocols. With all that said, it can get crowded real fast so this all only works if you’re one of 3 locksmiths in town at most.
For locksmithing, you should start with Lockpicking Lawyer videos on youtube
