College vs skilled trades.

[LRJammer]

They both have their place and I have lived both. Some people just arent cut out for college, and that is what it is. I went to one of the better automotive schools in the country after high school and spent 12 years in auto dealerships. I made a decent living, but after 5 years or so, (and maturing a bit more) I came to the realization that I didnt like the idea of doing that for the rest of my life. My best friend had graduated college with a BS in Engineering Physics and was doing very well in the semi-conductor industry. It was he that convinced me that I could succeed in college. He had helped me land a job in the company he worked for. That went well for a couple of years but when the technology bubble burst just prior to 9/11, I was layed off. After 9/11, the economy tanked and I was in a quandary over having to go back to the auto industry since there simply wasnt anything available otherwise. My parents offered to help me however they could to go back to school so I jumped at the chance. I got my BS in Manufacturing Engineering and havent looked back. Best decision of my life. I have no doubt that I would have found something outside of the automotive industry eventually had I not gone back to school. I still know guys in the business that have done just that and they are happy with where they are.

Different personalities are just cut out for different paths, and we are all better off for it.

 

[zacattack]

Neither is necessarily better or worse than the other. It all comes down to the individual and their inherent skill sets. Some people are not made for college, not because of intelligence but because college is for a certain type of thinker. While some people are made for trades. There’s also this common misconception that if you get a college degree you get a job or that it’s the university’s fault if you don’t get a job. That’s not true, the purpose of a university is to give people degrees. Some degrees just have an easier time getting jobs because there is more need, think STEM vs liberal arts. The problem is that Basically an entire generation or two has been lied to, and told that have to go to college or they’ll be living in a van down by the river.
Anyhow, I’m not sure I’ve articulated this the way I wanted to but it’s early and I’m tired, my point is that neither career path college or trades is better or worse than the other. Each is an opportunity to make the life you want.
I’m not in the trades but am a professor at a large university with several degrees and a lot of letters behind my name, and I’m sure as hell thankful that I can call a plumber at 2 AM when my basement is flooding with water because there’s a leak in the walls.

 

[Jbxl20]

Sometimes I wish I had a college degree and a fancy job. Then people wouldn’t be asking me to fix their stuff for them during hunting season.

If Your smart, motivated and a hard worker I think one would be successful regardless of trade or degree.

I’ve had all my training paid for by my employers.
Primarily 13 years at a auto dealer. Certified Honda master technician and ASE Advanced level diagnostic Master technician. I also have experience in construction, plumbing, electrical Hvac etc.

I currently make a living doing nuisance wildlife control. That leads to doing a lot of handyman type repairs because the customers can’t find anyone else to do it. Trades are definitely in demand.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Household Debt and Credit report first quarter of 2021.

Debt type	Average balance
Mortgage debt	$36,730
Home equity lines of credit	$1,210
Auto loan	$5,000
Credit card debt	$2,780
Student loan debt	$5,730
Other debt (personal loans, payday loans, etc.)	$1,490

Mortgage debt is most Americans' largest debt, exceeding other types by far. Student loans are the next biggest type of debt among those listed in the data.

These average numbers seem low for many Americans. Hell, I have seen parents co-sign on Junior’s $145,000 in nondischargeable student loans and now Junior is unemployed and homesteading in the parents’ basement.

 

[Two Roads]

Read Backpack to Briefcase if you are the parent or a motivated young person. Applies to trades or college. Very helpful.

Nobody with common sense, and basic math skills, should rack up huge debt for either. Most 18 yr olds can’t decide on which beer they like let alone who they will be so you need to be very careful because colleges, trade schools and the loan system could care less if the borrower “cuts it”. If you are mom and dad, who provides $200k to 18 year old brain cells? And if you are the 18 yr old, look in the mirror and put that ego back in the box. Better have a firm plan or you will screw up. Don’t gamble.

My advice, if college, business degree w emphasis on finance and personable communication skills at a biz school where you can build a network. You can use it for anything except sciences. Next, half of smart return on investment in college (or life) is building a meaningful future post grad network. Drinking buddies humping and hunting are a side job, not a network. It does not have to be the most expensive school, it needs to be one that actually educates the student. Skip the libtards focused schools, they are feckless buzzards only interested in coasting thru life on your dime and crapping on you for sport.

Consider the commercial (corporate) insurance industry. There is a huge gap in age occurring from retirement and while you need a population center to get started post career, everything you drive past (not the elk and mountains genius) is insured. It is very hard work to be successful but everything is hard work to be successful.

Remember, the world is run by B students. They hire A students. If you look at MOST highly successful people, they were B or even C students.

It took me seven years w college, hated almost all it. Floated last term on my VISA card. Didn’t make me successful, hard work did that. My wife said it best, get off your ass and jam.

 

[jlh42581]

I graduated valedictorian of the machine/welding shop at votech. Went from that to an associate in applied science computer programming. I make six figures at a stand up desk, only had 25k in student debt and can work with my hands. My day starts at 7:15, I walk out at 3:15. Theres an indoor swimming pool I can use at any hour of the day I choose. Would I choose this again... absolutely not. I hate being inside all day.

Big problem I see these days is the "shop" classes have all but vanished. I can remember middle/high school rebuilding lawn engines, wood projects, electronics, soldering, cooking... you know applied science. I took EVERY shop class that was ever available to fit into my schedule including sewing.

We are turning out kids that dont know shit. Like it or not. The ones who are coming out of college into professional trades/offices often times are so filled to the brim with arrogance its hard to teach them anything, they already know it all.

 

[colersu22]

Where do you live? I’m a commercial electrician on the front range of Colorado and I make half that……


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I’m in the union local 46 in Seattle, last time I looked out scale was in the top 5 for IBEW

 

[Warmsy]

I've done landscaping, bartending, and for the last ten years, carpentry. In all my jobs I have worked shoulder to shoulder with hardworking folks with college degrees, up to phd. I often, including now, made more money than them. College educated positions seen to be insanely competitive.

 

[FLATHEAD]

When I was 21 I started work for an electric utility co. at a power generating plant.
Lowest entry level, grunt-work type job. 7$/hr. Everybody said I had a GREAT Job!!
Was told I was looking at 15 yrs. to get even an Apprentice position.
Also was working 12hrs./day, 7days/week. for 3 months at a time on "outages".
This schedule was required of everybody.
And everybody who had been there any length of time was divorced at least once.
After 3.5 years of that I decided to he77 with that!!
Went and got my BS in Zoology and worked a year on my Masters. (never finished it).
Long story short - I now work 4 days a week from home with 5 wks vacation/year
and making 85k.
At 55, its good to not be killing myself. Saving my energy for hunting and fishing.

 

[wyodan]

I went to college and got an engineering degree. I would take a trade any day of the week, and still do on part time occasions.

 

[MattB]

I went to college as was the tradition in my family, a part of the American dream. Got a BS in Ag Science and an MBA. Went into ag lending, learned ag wasn't where my heart was, and turned to technology banking. Based on hard work and a little luck, my wife and I were both able to retire at 51.

The one thing I have seen with a number of friends who went into the trades is their bodies got pretty worn out over the course of their careers, and a few struggle to do the things they enjoy in retirements as a result. Just one thing to consider.

 

[cking13]

I went to college and dropped out my junior year and picked up a skilled trade where my employer paid for my schooling. No student debt and 80k salary, plus what I make on the side vs. finishing school, possibly racking up debt and a job where I might make 50k a year. In my situation I most definitely made the right choice. I hope these kids keep getting their liberal arts degrees and less go into trades. Ill just keep being more in demand and my salary will keep increasing.

 

[JPeters218]

So I’m pretty much living this right now. I’m 23 years old. I went to private school, and it was just assumed you go to college. So when I graduated, that’s what I did. Tho I had no idea what I wanted to do. I took classes for 1 year towards a management degree, and when it came time to register for classes for sophomore year, I looked at every class offered at the college and didn’t see a single one I wanted to take. (I was a 3.5+ gpa student in HS and College, so it was a lack of interest rather than struggling).
So I talked with my girlfriend and she convinced me to go to school for carpentry. I had been doing that work in the summer for 4 years, but bc of my schooling I never considered that a real option for a career.
Now after a year and a half I have a house, a paid off truck, and make enough to support myself and my gf while she’s in school. And I have a retirement account through my work.
I do believe that both are good options, you just have to find what you actually want to do. My job isn’t work to me. I love what I do.
And I can only see tradesman getting paid more as time goes on, because my generation does not want to work. So there is going to be a higher demand for those that are actually willing to

 

[Oregon]

My nephew is a lawyer. International business based in Wash DC. Did a total of 7-8 years of school. Willamette law school, NYU for some schooling, etc etc. kid is brilliant. Clerked for some Federal judge on circuit court etc. Makes bank as a 32 year old.
His dad, my Bro in law, barely got out of HS. Worked a mill job, mill shut down, he apprenticed as a plumber.
Opened his own plumbing business, with no employees, in a small town with only one other plumber.
Actually, not sure who makes more. I do know my Bro in Law is flat out living large being a plumber. Every toy a man needs he has that was bought with cash.

 

[Afhunter1]

I have a BS in Accounting from Pitt and a MBA from WVU. All I want to do is be a farmer. I do that on the side now but hope to make it my full time gig in 10 years when I retire at 50 and do whatever I want.

 

[Jbrow327]

When I was 21 I started work for an electric utility co. at a power generating plant.
Lowest entry level, grunt-work type job. 7$/hr. Everybody said I had a GREAT Job!!
Was told I was looking at 15 yrs. to get even an Apprentice position.
Also was working 12hrs./day, 7days/week. for 3 months at a time on "outages".
This schedule was required of everybody.
And everybody who had been there any length of time was divorced at least once.
After 3.5 years of that I decided to he77 with that!!
Went and got my BS in Zoology and worked a year on my Masters. (never finished it).
Long story short - I now work 4 days a week from home with 5 wks vacation/year
and making 85k.
At 55, its good to not be killing myself. Saving my energy for hunting and fishing.

Zoologist from home?

 

[Mighty Mouse]

If either path is over-hyped, I'd say it's college not trades.

I took the college route and it has worked out well for me because I chose a degree (mechanical engineering) with a clear path to a well paid career, chose an affordable in-state public university, and worked hard to get done as quickly as possible. I got my bachelor's in 3.5 years (could easily have been 3 years if not for the semester's worth of irrelevant humanities/social sciences courses I was required to take for the ostensible purpose of being "well-rounded"), incurred no debt, and had multiple job offers on the table prior to graduating. But I had a lot of high school classmates that went to college just because it was the expected next step and racked up a significant amount of debt on a 5+ year degree that in many cases led to a very mediocre career in terms of pay (not that money should be the sole consideration, but it is an important factor).

 

[ThisIsMyHandle]

I’m a asphalt mill operator in the IUOE. I work 7 months a year, make $42 a hour and gross over $70k annually. No college education, only a HS diploma I barely got. I think that getting a college education is overrated. Kids nowadays don’t want to get their hands dirty or get calluses on their palms. They want to work in a office and go to the gym to get muscle.


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[Eltigreblanco]

So I’m pretty much living this right now. I’m 23 years old. I went to private school, and it was just assumed you go to college. So when I graduated, that’s what I did. Tho I had no idea what I wanted to do. I took classes for 1 year towards a management degree, and when it came time to register for classes for sophomore year, I looked at every class offered at the college and didn’t see a single one I wanted to take. (I was a 3.5+ gpa student in HS and College, so it was a lack of interest rather than struggling).
So I talked with my girlfriend and she convinced me to go to school for carpentry. I had been doing that work in the summer for 4 years, but bc of my schooling I never considered that a real option for a career.
Now after a year and a half I have a house, a paid off truck, and make enough to support myself and my gf while she’s in school. And I have a retirement account through my work.
I do believe that both are good options, you just have to find what you actually want to do. My job isn’t work to me. I love what I do.
And I can only see tradesman getting paid more as time goes on, because my generation does not want to work. So there is going to be a higher demand for those that are actually willing to

Does anyone really like to work? If you won the lottery you would still go strap on your tool belt? I work hard so my family can live a nice life. If money was not a concern I could find plenty of things to do that would make me happy, and none of those are work.

 

[roadrunner]

If someone is good at applying knowledge to make things work, go the trade route. You need math and science to build stuff, but to really screw things up you need an engineer.

Licensing with some degrees is a farce. Professional Engineering (P.E.) being one of them. A guy spends 4 to 5 years of his life learning the science and application behind it, and then cannot call themselves an "engineer" until they have PE after their name. The undergrad degree alone should be enough.

Pretty much all the PE's I know don't use it, or are totally worthless. All they did was just pass another test for a resume builder. But insurance companies like it so...