4 ms·
In my experience the number of white collar professionals telling young people to work in the trades is at least 10x the number of blue collar professionals tel
by paulcole 4y ago
In my experience the number of white collar professionals telling young people to work in the trades is at least 10x the number of blue collar professionals telling young people to work in the trades.
People just adore telling people to do something they themselves wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. It’s like giving out stock tips without buying the stock yourself.
If it’s so obvious that being an electrician is the ticket to a great paying stable job, why’s there a shortage? Maybe it is that (from the article), “the job was too wet, too messy, too cold, too dirty, too hot.”
I remember when I graduated college the “shortage” was library science professionals and that ended up going over like a lead balloon. Then it was a nursing shortage and now nobody wants to be a nurse because it’s obvious the job really sucks.
Perhaps the most valuable lesson to learn here is that people love giving out advice and that most advice is awful.
- hotpotamus 4y agoI agree with that but I have once or twice recommended to some ladies who are stuck in menial jobs that they think about nursing. It seems like a menial job that at least pays decently, but really it seems like an entry level into the medical profession; I work with a (I suppose former) nurse who hasn't touched a patient in decades but helps document and manage medical software that my team develops. I'd imagine drug reps and tons of other weird medical niches open up from there. And NPs/PAs also seem reasonable. At least it's not what others are saying here about how tradespeople are expected to open up their own businesses to advance their careers.
- paulcole 4y agoHow have you enjoyed your career as a nurse?
- hotpotamus 4y agoDid you hate your career as a nurse?
- paulcole 4y agoNo, I've never worked as a nurse. I didn't enjoy my time working in a hospital laboratory though and would never recommend it to anyone.
- hotpotamus 4y agoWhat job would you recommend? Teacher? Police Officer? Patent Attorney? Carpenter? Fast food cook? Retail flunky? Trucker? There's oh so many choices, and few seem appealing to me.
- paulcole 4y agoYes, most work is very unappealing. That's why it's called work. If you're very fortunate you might be able to find something that you can stomach that pays well and treats you fairly. In my experience this tends to come down more to the employer than the field/job itself, but that's just my experience. I just generally don't think recommendations from randos are worth much. Other people may disagree and value the opinions of others very highly.
- hotpotamus 4y agoI tend to agree that recommendations aren't all that helpful, but I don't think much else is either. I'm pretty sure nurse at least pays better than fast food wage slave though.
- paulcole 4y agoYou're correct on this for registered nurses: > I'm pretty sure nurse at least pays better than fast food wage slave though. But very incorrect on this: > really [nursing] seems like an entry level into the medical profession Become a registered nurse is not an entry level job. It can be a job a person gets before they pursue a more advanced nursing career. You may be thinking of something like a CNA, which is much closer to "entry level": https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes311131.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes311131.htm Which doesn't pay significantly better than a fast food job and is extremely demanding both physically and emotionally.
- Tangurena2 4y agoIt is boom & bust. When wages rise "too high" then the media is full of "shortage of X". Youngsters see that, switch to that career, then a couple years later the glut of workers drives wages down until people quit, wages rise and the media is filled again with "shortage of X".