5 ms·

There's a semi-retired craftsman I watch regularly on youtube - Essential Craftsman. Almost all long-term success stories in the trades which he tells directly

There's a semi-retired craftsman I watch regularly on youtube - Essential Craftsman. Almost all long-term success stories in the trades which he tells directly or gets from his friends involve transitioning from a tradesman to an employer. You're selling your health and body as a tradesman. If you can make the transition to running a trades business, then you're selling your brainpower more than your body. Success stories in the trades are fairly consistent in this matter.

throwaway5959 4y ago
Came here to say this. Growing up in the Midwest I saw this all the time. The kids of plumbers that owned a plumbing business lived in a very nice part of town, the kids of plumbers still going to job sites lived in an OK part of town.
- TimTheTinker 4y ago
  This also applies to self-employed tradespeople who have good reputations in their area.
  - throwaway5959 4y ago
    100%. Worth their weight in gold, in both financial and productivity measures.
keybored 4y ago
> You're selling your health and body as a tradesman. If you can make the transition to running a trades business, then you're selling your brainpower more than your body. Selling your brainpower meaning managing the people who will sell their health and body as tradesmen. A minor racket.
- ClumsyPilot 4y ago
  > managing the people who will sell their health and body as tradesmen. A minor racket. A racket? He just became a 'wealth creator'! How dare you compare a visionary entrepreneur to a pimp!
  - sdiacom 4y ago
    I am once again unable to tell whether this is genuine or sarcastic capitalist bootlicking. This website has destroyed my brain.
    - yamazakiwi 4y ago
      I'd explain why I think it's definitely one way more than the other but the ambiguity makes it much better.
      - phkahler 4y ago
        >> the ambiguity makes it much better. What ambiguity? A pimp IS an entrepreneur! And in many cases here the investors are pimps - selling teams of people with questionable output to the public via IPO!
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - FactoryReboot 4y ago
      Why not both
    - tenpies 4y ago
      The beauty of the ambiguity is that you know there's someone on this web site that is 100% serious and believes that all labour is capitalist exploitation. Then there is also someone that is 100% sarcastic and that if you look at society closely, that exchange is probably one of the least exploitative in present day society. I mean we take the healthiest demographic on the planet, force them to be sedentary for 8+ hours per day, submitting themselves constantly to eye strain, and we make them pay for it. Now that's a racket.
- philippejara 4y ago
  those people are free to work as independent tradesman, many do.
- bluSCALE4 4y ago
  As with all businesses, there are good and bad people. Personally, I think it's easy to be good: 1) keep learning and using the best materials 2) pay a little more than a persons worth.
quercusa 4y ago
Essential Craftsman is a great watch - highly recommended.
bee_rider 4y ago
Definitely don’t want to cheapen the toll that trade work takes on the body, but do want to note that we all do sell our bodies and health one way or another. Heart disease is one of the main killers of Americans and all the office workers sitting in chairs for ~8 hours a day aren’t doing ourselves any favors there… I mean, yeah, on balance I’d rather be an API plumber than an actual physical plumber — code smells are less nauseating than poop smells — but there are advantages to jobs that keep you moving around.
- pcthrowaway 4y ago
  Not to mention RSI, eye problems, and other issues from performance-enhancing drugs lots of tech workers take to stay focused
  - lodovic 4y ago
    Is that a thing? I don't think taking "performance enhancing drugs" is safe or allowed in my country, and I would definitely report coworkers to HR if I would find out they did. It's not fair to compete against someone like that.
    - pcthrowaway 4y ago
      It's absolutely a thing. Rampant in SV from what I hear. Many people get them prescribed (Adderall, Ritalin) for ADD, but it seems like 20-40% of programmers have diagnosed ADD. Others buy from friends who get it prescribed, or on the black market, and they probably don't talk about it at work. I don't think most employers would fire an employee for taking drugs to improve their performance. Regardless of safety (and I say this as someone who used to take prescription Adderrall myself) there are negative side effects, and long-term effects.
      - dbfx 4y ago
        SV is not representative of tech workers
    - 4y ago
wrycoder 4y ago
If you were watching that channel, you'd know that he takes great pride in doing the work himself. In his latest series, he's building a garage/workshop for his son almost entirely by himself, just to show what can be done. He's amazing.

throwaway5959 4y ago

Came here to say this. Growing up in the Midwest I saw this all the time. The kids of plumbers that owned a plumbing business lived in a very nice part of town, the kids of plumbers still going to job sites lived in an OK part of town.

TimTheTinker 4y ago
This also applies to self-employed tradespeople who have good reputations in their area.
- throwaway5959 4y ago
  100%. Worth their weight in gold, in both financial and productivity measures.

keybored 4y ago

> You're selling your health and body as a tradesman. If you can make the transition to running a trades business, then you're selling your brainpower more than your body. Selling your brainpower meaning managing the people who will sell their health and body as tradesmen. A minor racket.

ClumsyPilot 4y ago
> managing the people who will sell their health and body as tradesmen. A minor racket. A racket? He just became a 'wealth creator'! How dare you compare a visionary entrepreneur to a pimp!
- sdiacom 4y ago
  I am once again unable to tell whether this is genuine or sarcastic capitalist bootlicking. This website has destroyed my brain.
  - yamazakiwi 4y ago
    I'd explain why I think it's definitely one way more than the other but the ambiguity makes it much better.
    - phkahler 4y ago
      >> the ambiguity makes it much better. What ambiguity? A pimp IS an entrepreneur! And in many cases here the investors are pimps - selling teams of people with questionable output to the public via IPO!
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
  - FactoryReboot 4y ago
    Why not both
  - tenpies 4y ago
    The beauty of the ambiguity is that you know there's someone on this web site that is 100% serious and believes that all labour is capitalist exploitation. Then there is also someone that is 100% sarcastic and that if you look at society closely, that exchange is probably one of the least exploitative in present day society. I mean we take the healthiest demographic on the planet, force them to be sedentary for 8+ hours per day, submitting themselves constantly to eye strain, and we make them pay for it. Now that's a racket.
philippejara 4y ago
those people are free to work as independent tradesman, many do.
bluSCALE4 4y ago
As with all businesses, there are good and bad people. Personally, I think it's easy to be good: 1) keep learning and using the best materials 2) pay a little more than a persons worth.

quercusa 4y ago

Essential Craftsman is a great watch - highly recommended.

bee_rider 4y ago

Definitely don’t want to cheapen the toll that trade work takes on the body, but do want to note that we all do sell our bodies and health one way or another. Heart disease is one of the main killers of Americans and all the office workers sitting in chairs for ~8 hours a day aren’t doing ourselves any favors there… I mean, yeah, on balance I’d rather be an API plumber than an actual physical plumber — code smells are less nauseating than poop smells — but there are advantages to jobs that keep you moving around.

pcthrowaway 4y ago
Not to mention RSI, eye problems, and other issues from performance-enhancing drugs lots of tech workers take to stay focused
- lodovic 4y ago
  Is that a thing? I don't think taking "performance enhancing drugs" is safe or allowed in my country, and I would definitely report coworkers to HR if I would find out they did. It's not fair to compete against someone like that.
  - pcthrowaway 4y ago
    It's absolutely a thing. Rampant in SV from what I hear. Many people get them prescribed (Adderall, Ritalin) for ADD, but it seems like 20-40% of programmers have diagnosed ADD. Others buy from friends who get it prescribed, or on the black market, and they probably don't talk about it at work. I don't think most employers would fire an employee for taking drugs to improve their performance. Regardless of safety (and I say this as someone who used to take prescription Adderrall myself) there are negative side effects, and long-term effects.
    - dbfx 4y ago
      SV is not representative of tech workers
  - 4y ago

wrycoder 4y ago

If you were watching that channel, you'd know that he takes great pride in doing the work himself. In his latest series, he's building a garage/workshop for his son almost entirely by himself, just to show what can be done. He's amazing.