College vs skilled trades.

[Sherman]

There seems to be a lot of hype around skilled trades lately. I think it's just that, hype. People will recommend learning a trade over getting a good college degree. I don't get it. Everyone and their mother claim these tradesmen are making 100k a year. A simple look at BLS average salaries says otherwise.

I'm not saying they're not needed. I'm just saying I think they have become overrated as career options lately.

What do you guys think?


EDIT: Now, obviously, if you get a worthless degree then a skilled trade would be way better.

I will fix the OP’s original statement:

There seems to be a lot of hype around college degrees lately. I think it is just that, hype. People will recommend getting a college degree over learning a good trade. I don’t get it. Everyone and their mother claim these college degrees are making $100k a year. A simple look at BLS average salaries says otherwise.

I’m not saying they’re not needed. I’m just saying they have become overrated career options lately.

What do you guys think?

Edit: OP seems either disconnected from reality or hold himself in such high regard that us “tradesman” are overrated and not worth the money all of us and our mother claims we make.

Get over yourself, bruh.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Mike Rowe who you may know from the Discovery channel dirty jobs started the Mikeroweworks foundation which supports and finances the skill labor jobs. He has alway been an advocate for vocational skills and skilled labor. At this time in our country if you learn a skill and become very proficient at it, you will likely find a job faster with better starting pay than those who graduate from a four year college. I know two recent, in the past year, college graduates who are working at Starbucks. I do believe if you have a in demand degree you will likely land a job and at some point you will be making a very good living exceeding those who are in skilled trades. Regardless of what choice you make, remember, good work ethic will help you advance faster than anything else.

 

[Antares]

This is a false choice. It’s not either or. I put myself through school buy working in construction (home building). Got my BS and now work in my field of study, but still wear my bags a lot too.

 

[AAABucko]

Nice topic! Nothing wrong either way IMO. Have field foreman that hit close to 200k a year in concrete. Have interviewed graduate level managers who couldn’t hold a convo and piss off half the people they work around making 95k and beyond. It’s all relative to the drive, likeability, and productivity of the person.
Also, firm believer that no bad economy leaves a self motivated good hand stranded - degree or not. I do think college offers advantages in critical thinking & exposure to other perspectives.

 

[AntlerFever]

https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2016/09/doctors-wanted-wealthy-become-ups-truck-drivers.html

Check this out, it’s relatively well broken down.

 

[Lelder]

Union Carpenter from northeast Ohio. Great career and we are on the low end of the pay scale in my area ( $27-$33 an hr on the check plus another $25 in benefits depending on the county you work) compared to other skilled trades. Pipefitters, and sparkys are over $35. I laugh when people think that we are stupid wife beating alcoholics and then ask me to build a new set of steps on their deck because they don’t know basic trigonometry….

 

[MuleyFever]

Interesting discussion. I remember reading that something like over half of graduates are not working in their field of study and around 40% are working in jobs that dont require a degree. My wife has a masters in accounting and works in HR. I have a BS in finance and work as a production manager. We both have the jobs we do because they require a degree, even though they are not related. Which brings up the fact that many jobs just require a degree. Whether the degree is worth it compared to the salary really depends. I have machine operators that like to work overtime that will make more than I do by the end of the year.

 

[Loggerdude]

If you don’t mind working trades a good and cost is reasonable. It’s sad that alot of people (don’t have to work anymore) The tax paying workers fund their opportunities. I hear that everyone should get free everything

 

[wind gypsy]

The trades are a good option for lots of people. Tradesmen with the right mindset can climb the ladder and compete for the same positions as folks out of college but there can be more hoops to jump through. My dad is currently retired on a union laborer pension and it worked well for him.

College is a great option for lots of people too. And it’s a waste of money for lots of people. There’s no absolutes.

I’m a PM for a large contractor. When hiring kids out college I’ll take the 2.8 GPA 5 year kid who grew up on a farm/ranch or paid his way through working construction every time over the kid with a masters and a 3.9 GPA and very little time away from his computer or suburbia. One of my all stars right now bucks that trend hard though.

My undergrad was about $12k/year at a state school so I’d say all this $40-60k/year stuff sounds ridiculous. My wife went to a private school, has her masters, and makes a solid living but still less than half of my income with a much more expensive education. The income has everything to do with the majors and type of work we pursued and nothing to do with the cost of our education.

 

[Loggerdude]

And oh yes you don’t have To fund your children’s education we did just fine without help or debt, it built character and a work ethic. Something this country needs more of.

 

[JakeSCH]

I've often thought about this and struggle to come to terms. I do believe that an overall better education makes our country better. Now I think that the improvements could easily be made way before college.

I have many friends who make multiple figures more than me that never went to college and I have co-workers with 6 figures of college debt.

I believe there should be a "smart" college solution calculated by students in high school economics classes. Have them choose multiple degrees and colleges to perform cost analysis vs a trade.

I was fortunate enough to have a good state engineering school that cost me 3k a year (I chose most cost effective degree and commuted) plus books and stuff. Graduated with a few k in debt (mostly because I was a moron and bought a mustang for my 21st birthday).

To me the worse thing you can do is spend 10's of thousands on filler classes because you have no clue what you want to do. That drives me nuts.

 

[ozyclint]

I'm a Boilermaker (all welding and steel fabrication)
I've worked all around Australia. If your good at what you do, over time you build yourself a reputation and work finds you.
When the wife and I travelled the country we could throw a dart at a map and get a job there. Girlfriend now wife is a registered nurse. Often times, accommodation was part of the package so employers could get and retain staff. We travelled the country, had the best years of our lives and saved a good house deposit.

I remember one one time we stayed in Derby in Western Australia, I went into the local steel workshop to get a piece of steel to job a little job on my camper trailer. Guy at the counter asked are you a boilermaker? I said yes. Then it was if all the doors and windows automatically slammed shut to lock me in until I said yes to work. Got back to the car after spending too much time to simply buy steel and my wife looks at me and says, "you just got a job didn't you?" "yep" Stayed there for 3 months, saved a ton of money and had a great time exploring the area.

IMO a big advantage to trades is the availability of work anywhere.

 

[Customweld]

I’m a project manager for deep underground utilities. Not a minute of college under my belt. I worked my way from the coffin, to the excavator and into the office. College was not for me. I was a piss poor student and would have been wasting everyone’s time and money if I would have went to college.
There is an absolute train wreck coming in the trades in terms of retirement and lack of recruitment. If you want to be your own boss or start your own outfit, trades are a fantastic way to go.
My middle daughter is a second year electrician apprentice and at 20 years old, she is well on her way to knock out 65k this year. My oldest daughter has 2 friends that are union linemen that are well into 6 figures at 22 years old.

 

[ranchhand02]

Skilled trades will always be in demand. People always want their lights to work and their toilets to flush. College is important also, but you need to pick a major with a job in mind rather than a generic degree and hoping to get a good job upon graduation.

 

[Tradchef]

I graduated culinary school in 96’ after getting out of a radiology degree. I was bored and was cooking while in radiology. I paid off my loans and have been paid off that for about 15 years now. I make $85k full bennys and a good retirement that I started on my own when I was 24 which was 21 years ago. It’s been a long road of shit pay, long hours and zero family and personal time but I’ve always enjoyed it and am starting to see it pay off. It’s not as good as most of you have for pay and time off but it works. However it’s amazing how many people I have washing dishes for me , cooking or waiting tables with some killer degrees but can’t find jobs and have huge student debt to pay off. I think both have their place. I rely on a lot of skilled trades guys and gals for my HVAC, plumbing,electrical, trucking to get my products, farmers to grow my veggies and meats etc....,both are important and I think to say it’s overrated is bullshit. Without these folks there’s a lot of things we wouldn’t have

 

[Vids]

Interesting topic. I grew up in a family where it was pre-determined you should go to college, so I got a civil engineering degree. It hasn't failed me, I think college is great for STEM related professions.

Over the course of my career (20+ years) I've run across high school educated folks that I highly trust to finish out a project with minimal oversight, and PhD level engineers that I wouldn't trust to build a chicken coop in my backyard. And vice-versa. It depends on the person. Education doesn't necessarily matter, it depends on the mix of intelligence, common sense, and the personality a person has.

The trades are great, and our society needs them. Personally speaking, I will push my kids towards college but only if it makes sense. It's really up to what they want to do, and about making wise decisions. Look at what your salary will be once you're out of college, and then determine if it's worth the money spent. If you want to be a plumber? Great. But get a business degree first and learn how to make it your own company and make $200k/year instead of $60k/year.

 

[Azone]

Get really really good at welding and fabrication and you will make plenty of money and your phone will always ring.
What I love about trades is, is talk is cheap and the true craftsmen will always shine.
I do have a few friends that went the college route and are doing extremely well for themselves, I also have a couple who thought it was like a guarantee to an easy life or something and fell flat.
It all comes down to how motivated you are and how bad you are willing to fight for it, degree or turning a crank for living.
College is great for some and horrible for others, likewise for trades.

 

[Fatcamp]

Same with you needing an accountant or doctor.

But your opening post wasn't about how an MD is overhyped, it's about how skilled trades are. Skills are real, at all levels. I worked construction for decades prior to earning my BSN. I now work in a very challenging environment with very smart, well educated people. They can't do what my previous coworkers did, regardless of their TV viewing habits.

 

[Fatcamp]

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


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In my experience the front range pays crap for trade work. Never could figure out why.

 

[TN2shot07]

There’s not a right or wrong answer for this question. Are colleges knowingly screwing students with useless degrees at high costs? Yes, but that also falls on students and parents. At some point people have to take responsibility for their choices. There are jobs that you cannot do without a degree so it ultimately depends on your life goals. I worked my way through college to get an accounting/finance degree doing book keeping. I had the ability to do the job I have now but would’ve never gotten an interview without the piece of paper. There is definitely a demand for trades and absolutely nothing wrong with that path if it’s what you want to do. My B-I-L is a lineman and makes more than I do, has a pile of nice toys, but at 30 is already having shoulder and knee issues. Grandfather is an electrician, has been retired for several years and has more side job opportunities than anybody wants! My advice is to find that spot where something you are passionate about and your natural ability crosses with making a decent living. You don’t have to make a fortune if you and your spouse are on the same page and live within your means.