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I mean, ok, but let's not base our entire view on one trade, if you can even call forklift operation a skilled trade. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, HVAC t

I mean, ok, but let's not base our entire view on one trade, if you can even call forklift operation a skilled trade. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, HVAC techs all have upward mobility from apprentice to journeyman to foreman to owning their own businesses. Apprentice level electricians make about $75k in Alaska with zero experience. Foreman electricians managing commercial electrical jobs make about $175k. YMMV per state or metro but that's some decent growth IMO, especially considering no college education requirement. I agree that the jobs are tough in the apprentice years. You are literally doing the grunt work for that trade, but a) you are getting paid to learn, and b) if you start right out of high school you are still young and able-bodied. Apprenticeships only last 2-4 years typically. You could be a licensed electrician at 22 years old.

lumost 5y ago
You are describing good Union work. Anecdotally these jobs appear tough to get into from family who work in various trades, in construction such jobs are tough to get into and tougher to hold onto ( eventually the work dries up as construction dwindles ) Unionized manufacturing does much better, with steady employment that can exceed 200/hr for the right work. These days you can pretty much only get such jobs via connection as they aren’t creating more of these jobs very frequently. Source: The 200/hr figure was based on underwater welding for USN ships.
yarpen_z 5y ago
While I'm not denying the value of trade jobs, it feels like cherry picking. An electrician in Alaska? Wouldn't his salary be inflated by high COL? Couldn't be the case that most people don't want to live there, and skilled workers are hired by oil and gas industry that can offer high wages? Foreman earning 170k - how many of them are there? Acsdemia is a really tough job market, maybe except for CS, and nobody claims that scientist is a great career because there are professors who make good living. After all, everyone knows how many PhDs and postdocs leave the academia because of lack of tenured positions. If you're briliant and top 5%, then you're going to succeed in every job and every trade. The question is what kind of jobs are left to the 95%?

lumost 5y ago

You are describing good Union work. Anecdotally these jobs appear tough to get into from family who work in various trades, in construction such jobs are tough to get into and tougher to hold onto ( eventually the work dries up as construction dwindles ) Unionized manufacturing does much better, with steady employment that can exceed 200/hr for the right work. These days you can pretty much only get such jobs via connection as they aren’t creating more of these jobs very frequently. Source: The 200/hr figure was based on underwater welding for USN ships.

yarpen_z 5y ago

While I'm not denying the value of trade jobs, it feels like cherry picking. An electrician in Alaska? Wouldn't his salary be inflated by high COL? Couldn't be the case that most people don't want to live there, and skilled workers are hired by oil and gas industry that can offer high wages? Foreman earning 170k - how many of them are there? Acsdemia is a really tough job market, maybe except for CS, and nobody claims that scientist is a great career because there are professors who make good living. After all, everyone knows how many PhDs and postdocs leave the academia because of lack of tenured positions. If you're briliant and top 5%, then you're going to succeed in every job and every trade. The question is what kind of jobs are left to the 95%?