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Seconded. In fact I am in full agreement with mike row from the tv show "dirty jobs". There are plenty of jobs in the trades that pay damn good money. American

by X86BSD 10y ago

Seconded. In fact I am in full agreement with mike row from the tv show "dirty jobs". There are plenty of jobs in the trades that pay damn good money. Americans just aren't doing them. Plumbers, carpenters, hvac, electrician, etc. Somehow Americans have evolved to see these jobs as beneath them or jobs that people don't respect. But the fact is trade skills are in high demand and if you've ever needed trade skill labor you know they make a damn good living. America needs to give up on this nonsense that only white collar STEM jobs are what kids should be training for. America needs to BUILD things again. Boys and girls need trade skills. /soapbox

humanrebar 10y ago
My brother is an electrician and makes worse money than I've seen administrative assistants make in tech shops. Partly, many of those trades have ceilings. Your salary doesn't always scale with skill and ambition like it can in IT.
- X86BSD 10y ago
  I don't see how that is possible unless you work for someone else perhaps. If you are a licensed, bonded electrician and work for yourself (which a sizable portion of trade workers do) your earning potential is only limited by the amount of work you are willing to do. Stay busy and you make a lot, work one day a week and you starve. YMMV.
  - humanrebar 10y ago
    > The middle 50 percent of Electricians earn between $17.00 and $29.88 per hour, for an average annual income ranging between $35,360 and $62,150.20. ...that's a living, but it's not "damn good money" or "only limited by the amount of work you are willing to do". It's not even very competitive with entry-level salaries for IT jobs. It's competitive with "support" roles in those organizations. Like admins, entry-level HR jobs, etc. That being said, I have a lot of respect for people with "dirty jobs" (my family and I have had them myself), and likewise, I have a lot of respect for Mike Rowe and his message. I'd be very happy if there were a newfound respect for those roles. ...but the money, work conditions, and career advancement prospects are certainly better for STEM degrees.

by X86BSD 10y ago

humanrebar 10y ago

My brother is an electrician and makes worse money than I've seen administrative assistants make in tech shops. Partly, many of those trades have ceilings. Your salary doesn't always scale with skill and ambition like it can in IT.

X86BSD 10y ago
I don't see how that is possible unless you work for someone else perhaps. If you are a licensed, bonded electrician and work for yourself (which a sizable portion of trade workers do) your earning potential is only limited by the amount of work you are willing to do. Stay busy and you make a lot, work one day a week and you starve. YMMV.
- humanrebar 10y ago
  > The middle 50 percent of Electricians earn between $17.00 and $29.88 per hour, for an average annual income ranging between $35,360 and $62,150.20. ...that's a living, but it's not "damn good money" or "only limited by the amount of work you are willing to do". It's not even very competitive with entry-level salaries for IT jobs. It's competitive with "support" roles in those organizations. Like admins, entry-level HR jobs, etc. That being said, I have a lot of respect for people with "dirty jobs" (my family and I have had them myself), and likewise, I have a lot of respect for Mike Rowe and his message. I'd be very happy if there were a newfound respect for those roles. ...but the money, work conditions, and career advancement prospects are certainly better for STEM degrees.