Choosing the Trades

28 Jun Choosing the Trades

In a world where there is a smart phone in every hand and an app for everything, it is no wonder that society is trading their blue collars for a crisper cleaner, white.

Today’s youth are guided to universities and fed notions of failed futures if they do not enter society wielding that special piece of paper declaring their mountains of debt.

“Skilled tradesman” has become a curse word among most parents, who are unaware of the immense potential and opportunity in this overlooked field of work.

What is a “Skilled Tradesman”?

A skilled tradesman refers to an individual who specializes in a particular occupation that requires experience, apprenticeship, or vocational instruction as an alternative to a bachelor’s degree or other degree of higher education.

There are many fields of trade, the most common of them including:

• Carpenters
• Masons
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Landscapers
• Welders

Although many other professions have been substituted with technology, the craftsmanship of skilled laborers will always be in demand and irreplaceable. Homes will need to be built, pipes repaired, and roads will need to be paved. No matter how technology changes and transforms throughout the years to come, the expertise of man’s two hands will never be replicated.

Can a Trade be a Career?

Often times, stereotypes lead people to believe that a career in the trades will leave you unsuccessful and poor, when in fact, according to ZipRecruiter.com, in 2018 a finish carpenter in the United States, has an average annual salary of $45,000, while a master plumber’s salary ranges from $56,000 to $66,000 nationally. Not only is a full-life sustainable on a craftsman salary but according to Monster.com, “skilled trade jobs are expected to increase faster than the national average of all jobs, which is 11 percent, over the next 10 years. Population and business growth, remodel and repair needs and maintenance of older structures are the reasons the Bureau of Labor Statistics give for a roughly 20 percent average job growth rate in skilled trades careers.”

Another common misconception among sceptics of vocational education is, how will this career path sustain with age? Craftsman are not limited to physical labor, meaning their ability to work in the field is not fully dependent upon their physical abilities. As with any occupational field, there are opportunities for growth and aspects of the field that do not require more than average physical capacity. In the construction field alone, there are positions such as estimators, project manager, job supervisors, and sales that all provide the opportunity for career advancement and a position that requires desk work.

Why Choose a Trade?

Skilled trades have been an overlooked opportunity by the masses but may just be the intelligent choice for today’s youth.

Instead of dedicating four or more years to college, accruing up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt (without the guarantee of career placement)…young adults instead have the opportunity to hone their skills in a trade where they will be paid for their alternative education, will begin their adult lives debt-free, and have a higher rate of job demand.

Trades offer the ability to work for a union with great benefits or an opportunity for independence as an entrepreneur.

It is our hope that trades lose their stereotype as a “last resort” and instead become admired for the career that it truly is.

Sources:
monster.com, zip recruiter.com, tradesource.com