Which Trade?

[6shinystonesParticipant 51]

Hello all,

I’m a fairly fresh college graduate. Got a safe/general/worthless business degree. No debt. No job. Living at home. Been asking around for some advice. I’m thinking about going into a trade, since everyone says there is a “skills gap”, and that few are going into the trades, but I want to do the extensive research now so that I’m not in the same situation after I pursue my trades education.

I’ve been asking around, and I have been recommended Electrician and/or Carpentry by two people I trust. Thought about doing welding, but was told (by someone I trust) that it will eventually destroy your eyes and lungs, etc.

I also wouldn’t mind working for an utility company or for a water treatment plant. They all seem very difficult to get into though.

Relocating is not an option right now. Besides, my area has a large growth of housing and infrastructure, which will continue for at least the mid-term, fueled by a single conglomerate, which I cannot get employed with. This growth is why I’m considering the trades. I have been trying to get a “corporate” job at various places for a while now. All that’s available to me is fast food and retail.

So, what would you all recommend a blank slate do? I know there are pros and cons of each path. But overall recommendations based on job outlook, quality of life, pay, etc. are appreciated.

All recommendations, not just trades, welcome too. I thought about being a teacher, just so I could have summers off and enjoy the decline. May still do that.

I have little direction honestly. I’m not good at anything!

Thanks for reading!

[JebParticipant 65]

You will not destroy your eyes. That is a myth. Eyes are determined by your genes.

As for your lungs. well. There is some concern but I would only put that at a medium risk. It is dependent upon the base and filler materials being used, primarily chrome content.

If you choose to learn how to weld I will recommend that you learn how to stick weld first. Second, learn to TIG weld. If you can weld these to processes with a high degree of skill you can learn any of the other processes out there with ease.

TIG and Stick are manual process that require a great amount of time under the hood to learn how to make these even to a mediocre level.

Welding is a good trade. I high quality pipe/tube welder can almost have rockstar like status on a big job. Not everyone can weld and only a few welders are really good.

If you live near any refineries, I live in the Houston Metro, the other I’d recommend would be instrumentation. They can earn quite well and its less hazardous than welding.

[Jan SobieskiParticipant 28791]

I wouldn’t want to be a mason or brick layer at 50 y.o.

Love is just alimony waiting to happen. Visit mgtow.com.

[thisistheguy123Participant 2063]

Out of all the trade workers I know, those in HVAC seem to be the happiest and most free to do as they please.

Good luck!

[RusskyParticipant 13503]

What a coincidence! I was about to start my own thread with the same name.
I am planning on going in trades too, but I haven’t decided what to do.
I don’t think I can afford going to school for it full time, so I’m hoping to start as a helper, then apprentice, become a licensed journeyman and then arrive at the master status.
Electricians have stricter licensing requirements as far as I know – you need to be licensed to do anything electrical, at least in our state.
Carpenting is back breaking and you deal with elements, and it’s not well paid for the amount of work you put in.
I’m looking into plumbing – because it’s easy and in high demand. I’ve been doing some plumbing already while I was working as a service tech for water conditioning company.
Other field in high demand – HVAC. They train you on the job and then you can move up.
Ideally, I want to get into service and maintenance of electronics machinery and robotics, because I believe this will become in higher and higher demand overtime.
But I have to start somewhere – on Friday I got an interview – authorized service shop for appliances – could be a good place for me. I love fixing stuff.
If I went to trade school – I’d go for commercial HVAC or electrician
Maybe I’ll figure out the way to do it on nights and weekends.
Welders? Tons of my friends in Lithuania became welders and moved to Western Europe. Not sure if it’s bad for you, but they’re making money. I don’t think I would do it. There are much easier and less back breaking trades to consider that are also in high demand everywhere

proud carrier of the 'why?' chromosome

[RusskyParticipant 13503]

MGTOW who are or know something about skilled trades – please chime in. I’d really appreciate that

proud carrier of the 'why?' chromosome

[FrostByteParticipant 19005]

Russky wrote:

MGTOW who are or know something about skilled trades – please chime in. I’d really appreciate that

Seek out an apprentice program from a utility or municipality. A journeyman in any trade is good money. Plus they will likely hire you and you will have State funded benefits.

If you rescue a damsel in distress, all you will get is a distressed damsel.

[Catch And ReleaseParticipant 133]

I’m not a tradesman but I’ve worked pretty closely with a number of trades over the years in an industrial setting. It is probably going to depend a bit on the area you live in, but HVAC seems to often be recommended around here as a good but less often considered job. Instrumentation as well, but I would imagine at least around here the market would be saturated with the oilfield being slow. Power Engineering used to be common as well, but also hit hard with the slow down. My company seems to have trouble finding heavy duty mechanics more than anything. The millwrights at work stay really busy, but I don’t envy what they do. And as much as I enjoy welding, I could never make a career of it.

If I had an opportunity to pursue one and market demand wasn’t a concern I’d probably be a crane operator.

[RhinoParticipant 3477]

I too deal with trade people all the time in the property management field. The people I call the most for building maintenance and repair in this order plumbing, electrical (mainly in fire safety panels), elevator operators, hvac, pest control, dry wall and plaster workers, painters.

In that list the pay is the same with plumber/electrician being at the top and painter at the bottom. Plumber has to dig a lot of holes, sit, kneel, and fit in tight areas to do his job. If I had to choose between all the trades I would choose electrician. They get a ton of work and usually just travel in the area they live for work but you do have to deal with a lot of customers and also have to go into high places to do your job.

If you don’t like people and are an introvert truck driving would be the best option although the pay has gone down a lot since the really 80’s. There is a big demand still for drivers though but don’t expect to be paid for the long hours you would work as compared to other fields but this is an option regardless.

Don’t get into brick laying it will ruin your body and mechanics make a decent living too but you will work very long hours as well to get to the pay of an actual trades person unless you own the shop yourself then you can make a killing.

Elevator mechanics make huge amount of money but there are only 3 companies in the world that have a monopoly on this industry and you will be working for one of them if you decide to go this route. They work long hours as well and are in very high demand because so many elevators constantly break down. Also you will have to go through an apprenticeship with one of the 3 companies they do the teaching for this industry and it is not unheard of for them to get thousands of applications each day to get accepted. Usually to get in you need to know someone who can recommend you otherwise you have a huge uphill battle to beat out the rest. Hope this helps.

[BobarioParticipant 96]

re:welding. Breathing in any kind of smoke or fumes is not good for your health. Having said that any half decent company will provide you with fume masks and a fume extractor. Mig/Mag welding is fairly easy to pick up nowadays as modern welding sets are quite forgiving. Tig and stick/Mma welding to a high standard requires a s~~~ ton of practice. Good (and qualified) stick and tig welders usually have a higher salary, at least here in the UK. Your eyes will be protected by your visor, I have been welding on and off for about 16 years and have never had arc eye.

Maybe it’s just me getting old but I find welding can occasionally be hard/dirty work. Sometimes it involves a lot of grinding just to prep the metal before you start. If you mess up you may have to grind your weld off and start again. Sometimes you may be welding in awkward positions, not for a fantastically long time but long enough to become uncomfortable. Sometimes you will be working on heavy objects that you have to manhandle into position etc.

You can earn good money as a welder if you specialise and/or gain qualifications to work for pharmaceutical or food grade stuff which sometimes requires special processes.

Having said that I still enjoy it and often find it quite fulfilling and even artistic. One added benefit is I don’t have to deal with women at work and not many women would want to do my job.

[Nathan R. JessepParticipant 1102]

Jeb wrote:

You will not destroy your eyes. That is a myth. Eyes are determined by your genes.

As for your lungs. well. There is some concern but I would only put that at a medium risk. It is dependent upon the base and filler materials being used, primarily chrome content.

If you choose to learn how to weld I will recommend that you learn how to stick weld first. Second, learn to TIG weld. If you can weld these to processes with a high degree of skill you can learn any of the other processes out there with ease.

TIG and Stick are manual process that require a great amount of time under the hood to learn how to make these even to a mediocre level.

Welding is a good trade. I high quality pipe/tube welder can almost have rockstar like status on a big job. Not everyone can weld and only a few welders are really good.

If you live near any refineries, I live in the Houston Metro, the other I’d recommend would be instrumentation. They can earn quite well and its less hazardous than welding.

As soon as I saw the title my first thought was ‘welding’. Heard a guy on the radio in the same position as the OP with a college degree and he got into welding and he’s very happy in it. Of the trade I think it’s one of the best for doing when you’re older.

http://mikerowe.com/2015/11/rubioweldersphilosophers/

[BobarioParticipant 96]

Nathan R. Jessep wrote:

As soon as I saw the title my first thought was ‘welding’. Heard a guy on the radio in the same position as the OP with a college degree and he got into welding and he’s very happy in it. Of the trade I think it’s one of the best for doing when you’re older.

Depends what you’re doing. If you learn early, get your qualifications and work your way up the payscale you can earn enough money to retire before you ever get old.

P~~~ all your youth and money away chasing women and buying pointless s~~~ and…I get aches and pains sometimes.

[Crane CommanderParticipant 207]

Like cranes? Be an Operator. My best advise is to contact your local Operating Engineers local and start asking questions. Ask how to start being a crane apprentice and how to register for an apprenticeship program. You can also phone crane companies and ask them too, but they may want you to start as a truck driver first like I did. I highly recommend this trade.

[6shinystonesParticipant 51]

Thank you everyone for the comments, advice, and insight.

Jeb: Thanks for the path and insight on the welding front. Seems like a difficult trade to master. Instrumentation isn’t taught at any of my local trade schools, so I guess it’s not that big around where I am.

Jan: Thanks for the tip. My future self is something I’m considering when researching all these trades. I should have also mentioned I’m pretty weak and skinny, despite working out. So I could easily injure myself with constant heavy lifting.

thisistheguy: I did consider HVAC, still am sort of, but was told that you often risk inhaling poisonous vapors/gases in this line of work. Thanks for the luck.

Russky: good luck on your interview. And thanks for the info. I was told that some elements of carpentry are back-breaking, but home-improvement carpentry is easier. Having strict license requirements for an electrician is okay if you get in, with the high barrier to entry. If. I am partial to electrician because of personal recommendations and I have a successful friend in this field who can show me the ropes.

I am considering trying out one class/trade per semester.

FrostByte: I’ve applied around and haven’t gotten a word back. It’s either very competitive or they don’t want me since I have no relevant experience.

One that I didn’t mention here was the Sprinkler Fitters. They were advertising in my area, and I applied a few months ago. How would I better qualify for that trade? Or which trade is most relatable?

Catch And Release: Thanks for your perspective. I thought about being a crane operator or an excavator/heavy equipment operator, but back when I tried to research either of these in my area, there was very little info, and I sort of stopped thinking about it.

Rhino: Thanks for the info. More points for plumber/electrician. I don’t like people and am not sociable. I think I’m good at faking during interviews but it hasn’t worked yet. Truck driving seems pretty stressful and I don’t see a future in it. Since self-driving technology is going to be shoved down our throats.

And thanks for the info on the elevator mechanics and the monopoly. That was another thing I considered doing, but discontinued because there was little information or education for my area.

Bobario: The benefit of not having to deal with women goes without saying!! Again, welding seems real tough to master. Didn’t know there was special welding for food-grade stuff. Will look into, thanks. As for safety, if I get in with a union, I’ll probably be given that special equipment. Otherwise, they pay $15/hour, and I doubt they’ll buy any PPE for their workers, beyond what is required by law.

Nathan: I’m pretty p~~~ed I wasted 4 years of my life, and quite a bit of money. But my parents say the degree can’t hurt me (anymore). I am excited to really start over though.The thread where Mike Rowe was mentioned was my inspiration for this post, actually.

Crane Commander: I do like cranes. As a child, I wanted to be an excavator driver (the one with the single large arm) and move dirt around all day, or tear down a building. I did haphazardly research for organizations in my area. Little info, but I’ll have to relook into all of this. Also, these people really don’t like talking to me, and I generally don’t get past the receptionist. Maybe they get asked a lot, maybe it’s because I’m young and stupid. Oh well.

Thank you everyone for the replies and generosity in sharing your knowledge. I hope I got everyone.

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