4 ms·

Gen-Z is shunning college to take up traditional trades like welding, plumbing

11 points by LinuxBender 3y ago

HPsquared 3y ago
Makes a lot of sense, seems to be a win-win. The country needs skilled people, and young people need reliable careers.
ramon156 3y ago
Thanks dailymail for another oversimplification of a problem
ryandrake 3y ago
Honestly, I don't know what to advise my (now) 11 year old to do. We are so rapidly moving to this bifurcated world where there are a few "elite" leadership jobs available to "elite" people, and a huge amount of unskilled or low-skilled labor that pays nothing but wrecks your body, mind, and spirit. AI and robotics are threatening to slowly but eventually eat every middle class blue and white collar job. "The Trades" are more and more marketed as desirable, but the only people I know in "the trades" who have really made a decent middle class life are those who quickly pivoted over to owning their own construction/roofing/HVAC/etc business. The people who are still sweating it working for someone else as an electrician are not doing all that hot. So the advice really is not "go into the trades" but "go into the ownership class."
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  > the advice really is not "go into the trades" but "go into the ownership class." That's why I have a "profession" (coding), a trade (welding[0]), and capital (investing); all of these things are things that will swim out of a shipwreck with you, as per Simonides: http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/oxford/412.htm http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/oxford/412.htm [That pretty much covers it for most revolutions; if Skynet takes over I have to hope it likes bad[1] cabaret lyrics, produced with wetware latency] [0] advice from a welding instructor: "when your entire business is on the back of your truck, you never have to put up with workplace politics" [1] are there any other kind? "the wine was 15 centimes; the verses worthless"
  - 082349872349872 3y ago
    Oops, I'd originally been thinking of Aristippus: https://lexundria.com/vitr/6.0/gw https://lexundria.com/vitr/6.0/gw Was being shipwrecked an occupational hazard of ancient philosophy?
- kcplate 3y ago
  It’s not so much about now, but 25 years from now. It’s my opinion that nearly every vocation that requires a college degree now, has a greater than average chance that the job will be replaced by some form of AI in the next couple of decades. Trades are AIproof for a much greater timeframe and it’s my sense that those vocations will be very well compensated, because at that point a couple of decades from now they will require people with high skill levels. I can’t see other positions that may fit that bill. I am recommending a trade route to all my grandkids.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
spicyusername 3y ago
Seems like supply and demand at work. Many white collar jobs are overrepresented in the labor market and many blue collar jobs are underrepresented, as anyone who's tried to get good contract work done can attest to.
reify 3y ago
The pathetic agenda driven generalisations of the Daily Mail. What do they know about the working class. Nothing! "Shunning College". Some youngsters go to college and some youngsters go into the trades. Its simply life, no more complicated than that.
tennisflyi 3y ago
BLS puts those at like ~$60k/year. Good, but meh. Probably barely afford rent at the third of income rule of thumb

11 points by LinuxBender 3y ago

HPsquared 3y ago

Makes a lot of sense, seems to be a win-win. The country needs skilled people, and young people need reliable careers.

ramon156 3y ago

Thanks dailymail for another oversimplification of a problem

ryandrake 3y ago

Honestly, I don't know what to advise my (now) 11 year old to do. We are so rapidly moving to this bifurcated world where there are a few "elite" leadership jobs available to "elite" people, and a huge amount of unskilled or low-skilled labor that pays nothing but wrecks your body, mind, and spirit. AI and robotics are threatening to slowly but eventually eat every middle class blue and white collar job. "The Trades" are more and more marketed as desirable, but the only people I know in "the trades" who have really made a decent middle class life are those who quickly pivoted over to owning their own construction/roofing/HVAC/etc business. The people who are still sweating it working for someone else as an electrician are not doing all that hot. So the advice really is not "go into the trades" but "go into the ownership class."

082349872349872 3y ago
> the advice really is not "go into the trades" but "go into the ownership class." That's why I have a "profession" (coding), a trade (welding[0]), and capital (investing); all of these things are things that will swim out of a shipwreck with you, as per Simonides: http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/oxford/412.htm http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/oxford/412.htm [That pretty much covers it for most revolutions; if Skynet takes over I have to hope it likes bad[1] cabaret lyrics, produced with wetware latency] [0] advice from a welding instructor: "when your entire business is on the back of your truck, you never have to put up with workplace politics" [1] are there any other kind? "the wine was 15 centimes; the verses worthless"
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  Oops, I'd originally been thinking of Aristippus: https://lexundria.com/vitr/6.0/gw https://lexundria.com/vitr/6.0/gw Was being shipwrecked an occupational hazard of ancient philosophy?
kcplate 3y ago
It’s not so much about now, but 25 years from now. It’s my opinion that nearly every vocation that requires a college degree now, has a greater than average chance that the job will be replaced by some form of AI in the next couple of decades. Trades are AIproof for a much greater timeframe and it’s my sense that those vocations will be very well compensated, because at that point a couple of decades from now they will require people with high skill levels. I can’t see other positions that may fit that bill. I am recommending a trade route to all my grandkids.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

spicyusername 3y ago

Seems like supply and demand at work. Many white collar jobs are overrepresented in the labor market and many blue collar jobs are underrepresented, as anyone who's tried to get good contract work done can attest to.

reify 3y ago

The pathetic agenda driven generalisations of the Daily Mail. What do they know about the working class. Nothing! "Shunning College". Some youngsters go to college and some youngsters go into the trades. Its simply life, no more complicated than that.

tennisflyi 3y ago

BLS puts those at like ~$60k/year. Good, but meh. Probably barely afford rent at the third of income rule of thumb