College vs skilled trades.

[Eltigreblanco]

I love to work. Whether it is at work, in the gym, in the boxing gym, in the yard, or hiking in the mountains. I love the feeling of being drained physically knowing I made myself better. The endorphins of hard, physical, “work” are a great feeling. If I won the lottery I would still work just as hard, just not making other people money.

I'm with you on being physical and moving all day. Not getting up at 3:30 everyday for the man is what I would rather not do

 

[Afhunter1]

This is one of my favorite quotes and I try and live by it. Mr. Heinz didn’t invent ketchup he just made the best ketchup and many people agree. He was worth millions. It doesn’t matter if you have a degree or not. If you make the best ketchup everyday you will find success in whatever you do.

 

[WesCAtoll]

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.

Doing better than anyone I know who went to college as a (now) union electrician. I got a bachelor's in being useful for free and was paid to learn.
Our base as a journeyman electrician in The greater Seattle area is over 120,000. I've already worked over $70,000 in OT this year.
I encourage everyone to get a degree outside of the trades, keep letting our salaries jump from lack of workers.

I mean hell. We might as well just only focus on computers and just let our buildings and infrastructure crumble. Fuckit

 

[roadrunner]

Some of us don’t need both…

No one ever said you did. Neither one is a substitute over the other...

 

[roadrunner]

The key to most high paying trades jobs is one word; union.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

My brother in law got his masters degree in some sort of engineering around the same time I got my 100ton captains license. He came out with a pile of debt and started at a salary of 45k a year I started for a dredge company for 25/hr I made about 70 grand that first year. I moved around working on the waterfront till I found a job working as a union terminal operator/dock worker at an oil terminal. We have both been with our current companies for 5 years now, he just got promoted to project manager making 90k a year. I made 90k my second year. He’s got about a dozen people under him and a fancy job title which I do not have. He gets 2 weeks vacation 5 sick days and 10 paid holidays, his employer matches 4% of his 401k and he pays about 600/month for health insurance. He also works 50+ hours a week as a salary employee and doesn’t get OT.

My employer pays 23$/hr into my health and welfare/pension for the union, I don’t pay a penny for healthcare and don’t have to pay into my pension they do on my behalf. I get 15 sick days 5 personal and 3 weeks vacation where my employer pays 1/52nd of my previous years pay. 11 paid holidays and OT for anything over 8 hours in a day, double time on holidays and sundays.

I have two young kids and my wife is huge on the college route and I’m huge on trades, she always says look at my brother how well he did and I say what about me I make 25k more with better benefits, and I always get the yea but he’s an engineer. I have friends that are engineers making close to 200k per year and I have friends in the trades making more, I also have a friend that’s a lobsterman that makes more than anyone I know.

 

[hodgeman]

I will put this out there... I've worked in the engineering and project management world for a long time now.

While engineering salaries are pretty decent, every single millionaire I personally know has an engineering degree and there's more than a dozen of them. Statistically, engineering is the number one profession among millionaires.

Engineering is a career built on process and process adherence, math, and the industry rewards frugality. Engineers typically are good at keeping and building wealth, more so than other careers that may pay more...a trait they share with teachers. I know a couple of commercial fishermen and a couple more pretty serious pipe welders that make fabulous money and are continually stone ass broke.

It's not always about what you can make, but what you can keep.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

I’ve got a college degree. In forestry resources management. I worked for government, the private sector, then myself. I’m guessing my average income was $70,000 or so a year, across that 20 year span.

I work in the trades now. My dad and most of my uncles were contractors. I got my license and began doing it as it was all I know besides Forestry. I’m in my third year as a full time gig with my own business. I didn’t do it for the love of building. I did it for the increased income. And, it’s substantially increased since doing it.

God has blessed my beyond description.

 

[Medic4049]

I've read over these pages...and this is actually my first post. I work for a power plant and was a boilermaker before that. I have a bachelor in business and accounting.

I don't look rich or act it. I have a meager house. Haven't driven a new vehicle in years. I've been around years and worked with engineers.

I think the best way to gather wealth is make as much as you can and don't spend it. There are millionaires in all walls of life and you probably won't even know half of them have fat bank accounts and investments.

The trades (as in the unions) give you the tools to make 6 digits easily. But you may need to travel to stay employed. I got tired of this and work at a power plant now and still make about 140k.

But I only owe a small sum on my house and the extra I make goes to the mortgage.

I do love by the Dave Ramsey method. No cards. No car payments.

But I'm happy.

Do what you love doing and get into it the cheapest way possible. Maybe college, maybe crafts, maybe military even.

Hope you find what you are looking for. As a 50 yo I can tell you my family is worth millions, my hunting dog is priceless, and know peace that only Christ brings makes me content.

 

[Poser]

Hot take: residual income is where it’s at.

 

[ozyclint]

I encourage everyone to get a degree outside of the trades, keep letting our salaries jump from lack of workers.

I mean hell. We might as well just only focus on computers and just let our buildings and infrastructure crumble. Fuckit

Haven't you heard that AI is going to take over?

People with a college degree in engineering design who have never unblocked a shitter are working on robots that can unblock a shitter.
Meanwhile my computer freezes if the planets become slightly misaligned.

 

[CoStick]

better measure is lifetime earnings vs average annual.

 

[woods89]

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.

This is certainly a thing, but sometimes I wonder if it's a little more complicated. A lot of tradespeople do a very poor job of taking care of themselves. Poor nutrition, bad sleep habits, alcohol, smoking, etc. I think if you are going to rely on your body for your living, you had better keep up with the maintenance. It's also easy to just flat work too much, and while this is sometimes necessary short term, if it continues long term seems like it has a negative effect. I don't know your friends, however, and maybe they blow my idea out of the water.

It's also true that many retirement age white collar folk aren't exactly pictures of health either, though often for different reasons.

This thread has made me realize a lot of you, both trades and college educated, make way more money than me..........

 

[Thunder]

This is certainly a thing, but sometimes I wonder if it's a little more complicated. A lot of tradespeople do a very poor job of taking care of themselves. Poor nutrition, bad sleep habits, alcohol, smoking, etc. I think if you are going to rely on your body for your living, you had better keep up with the maintenance. It's also easy to just flat work too much, and while this is sometimes necessary short term, if it continues long term seems like it has a negative effect. I don't know your friends, however, and maybe they blow my idea out of the water.

It's also true that many retirement age white collar folk aren't exactly pictures of health either, though often for different reasons.

This thread has made me realize a lot of you, both trades and college educated, make way more money than me..........

Take what they say they are making with a grain of salt. It’s the internet.

There’s not too many rich skilled tradesmen out there. Sure there are some but not many. And to even get ahead you gotta work overtime. My time away from work is way to valuable.

Figure out a way to make money for while you sleep.

 

[fngTony]

I wish that I had read this thread twenty years ago and became an electrician in Seattle.

 

[FortuneTeller]

Yeah definitely not black and white with the blue collar versus college education. I've been fortunate as an engineer to have lucked out and worked myself into a decent spot at age 31.

to get there sometimes it's who you know but more likely it's who you Blow. haha



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[Chedster]

I went to college and had a ok job but it didn’t pay. I had a opportunity to get into the local steamfitter apprenticeship 3 years ago and I have a little over a year left until I’m a journeyman fitter. Pretty easy to make 100k a year of your willing to work some overtime. If I could go back, I would skip college and go straight to a trade. You get paid while going to trade school versus pilling up student debt for a 4 year degree

 

[Blaw]

I wish I could read all these posts, but I will just offer my input

I am a Jman Electrician, in calgary alberta top rate is 39/hr in city. lots are around 37/hr

the past 3 yrs I have made100k-117k

so if someone is in a ticketed trade they can do well....BUT! if they are smart with their money it can go way further (low cost of living, high amount going into investments)

The downside of trades is how you are treated. it is generally crap. I am a clean-cut guy that is not stupid yet I have repeatedly been treated like crap by people in higher positions (always the GC) that are borderline retarded but now that they have their big title they just shit on everyone.

not to mention using porta potties that are overflowing or god knows what else....it is expected since you wear a plastic hat for a living that you should be ok with that.....

I would be looking into some of these blockchain, or programming boot camps. 11 weeks of intense training and companies acknowledge it.

 

[Blaw]

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


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god damn I'm coming down there!!

 

[CJohnson]

I’ve got a masters degree in engineering, PE licensure, and my commercial electricians license. I enjoy doing design work during the day and wiring houses on the side.

I think you should consider your options. I went to college for free (lottery scholarships), met a ton of people, and learned a good bit. Networking has some value.

It’s also easier to go to college from 18-22 and then decide to pursue the trades than it is to work in the trades right out of high and then try to go to college.