Because unless you have your degree, you're a loser... even if it's a phys.ed. degree. Oh, and contemporary society requires all to go to college, to rack up $100k in debt to live in the dorm, get wasted and totally laid. Omfg, I missed out on the "college experience".
Evidently Mike Rowe.Who pissed in your Wheaties this morning?
This is true. For most people, becoming a skilled trade journeyman is probably more difficult than getting a bachelor's in liberal arts - or education, or journalism.We had guys wash out of the apprenticeship all the time. It's hard dirty work, and contrary to what slayer seems to think, not everyone can do it. Sure, you can probably learn the basics...how to start the equipment, what the various controls do, but making that piece of equipment perform correctly isn't easy...and many people just don't have the aptitude for it.
Same with any of the skilled trades. I can cut and thread pipe...but I'll never be a plumber, I understand the basics of pipefitting, how to measure a run, how to fit the various connections, etc., but I'll never be a fitter.
I can butcher wood, drive nails, etc, but I'll never be a carpenter.
Of all the "other skilled trades," the only one that I could actually do well is ironworking...but not rod busting. Too much bending over...all fucking day, bent over tying rods.
My apprenticeship taught me to weld, (had to become certified on mild steel) mechanics, (diesel and gas, hydraulics, and some electrical, and proper maintenance.
Not everyone wants to spend 10-12 hours crawling around a piece of dirty, hot, greasy equipment with a grease gun in hand, changing oils and filters, repairing things that you find while you're doing maintenance.
I made decent money in the trades. My last job was about $35/hr, and all the overtime I wanted...and then some. My last couple of years, I made over $90K.
It was easy to make $80K/yr...if I hadn't been commuting so far every day, (~100 miles each way) I could have easily made over $100k.
Do ALL heavy equipment operators around here make that? No...many don't want the overtime, don't want to work in the bad weather, (or can't...dirt work shuts down in the rain) and lots of operators only want to work enough hours in a year to get their pension credit and pay for the medical insurance for the year.
The skilled trades aren't for everyone...and not everyone can do them.
I think you may have misinterpreted my statement. I'm referring to the people who can't do trivial things around their house - basic skill sets that the majority of the population had 30 years ago. People who HAVE to hire a carpenter to hang a book shelf. People who HAVE to hire an electrician to change a bad switch. People who HAVE to hire a plumber for a leaky faucet. So many people are incapable of even trying to learn a simple skill.
Yep. People who HAVE to hire a plumber to relight their pilot light.
They just opened a High School of the Trades here in town. I thought it was super cool.
Growing up my dad and my brothers couldn't turn a wrench. I have a white color job now, but every weekend I'm busting my back doing some "skilled trade" just for fun and because I like the honest dirt I get on my hands and the sweat on my brow.
I regret nt going that route in life. I was unquestionably pressured into college 20 years ago, and ended up never getting a degree as I just bounced around. I shoulda been a carpenter.
I'm often amazed at what a chef must have to do in a busy restaurant. Some time, I'd like to just tag along with a chef for a few hours during a busy dinner rush & see how they juggle everything. I work with just one product - pizza, (plus wings and subs) and to think about turning out that volume, but with a wide variety of products - different temperatures and different cooking times - just amazes me.
They just opened a High School of the Trades here in town. I thought it was super cool.
Growing up my dad and my brothers couldn't turn a wrench. I have a white color job now, but every weekend I'm busting my back doing some "skilled trade" just for fun and because I like the honest dirt I get on my hands and the sweat on my brow.
I regret nt going that route in life. I was unquestionably pressured into college 20 years ago, and ended up never getting a degree as I just bounced around. I shoulda been a carpenter.
Another reason why skilled laborers are demonized is because most of these jobs are being outsourced over seas.
Yeah it's sad to be considered a loser if you don't have a college education even if you are a skilled tradesman who has held the same job for 30+ years
Another reason why skilled laborers are demonized is because most of these jobs are being outsourced over seas.
The sheer number of details boggles the mind if you consciously think about it.
The point I was trying to make about aptitude and attitude is that you must be able to internalize enough of the details to free up enough fore brain to deal with emergencies and time critical events. I call it 'cooking with the back of my brain.' I disassociate from the mundane and let my better 'instincts' handle them while I try to keep an eye on the big picture.
It requires training, experience, aptitude and, a desire to excel at tasks that most people find daunting. I'm sure there are similar work environments in other trades. One of the few benefits of doing such demanding work is the knowledge that few can maintain the level of concentration it requires and even fewer can excel at it.
I think you may have misinterpreted my statement. I'm referring to the people who can't do trivial things around their house - basic skill sets that the majority of the population had 30 years ago. People who HAVE to hire a carpenter to hang a book shelf. People who HAVE to hire an electrician to change a bad switch. People who HAVE to hire a plumber for a leaky faucet. So many people are incapable of even trying to learn a simple skill.
I know exactly what you mean. In one stretch tonight, I cooked the equivalent of 130 large pizzas in 120 minutes - plus waited on the customers. What needs to happen/when to spin pizzas, pop any bubbles, pull them out, etc., is sort of a 6th sense that doesn't take up any thought; the act of cooking all that food, plus coordinating with the delivery guy, and person making subs/wings so that everything is ready at the same time - it's almost done subconsciously.
Anyway, someone mentioned something about "how are we going to know how to do those simple things?" I feel bad for some of the people, for they've grown up without a father. It's a father's job - his duty - to make sure that his children know a lot of the most basic skills before they leave the house. I mentioned in another thread recently - my boys knew household wiring by the time they were 10. When they got their own cars, they had to do all the work on them - change their own brakes, fix a broken brake line, replace a fuel pump, change the plugs and plug wires, and... change a friggin tire. It amazes me that people are afraid to change their own tire. Hell, even wearing a business suit, I'd rather change a tire myself than wait for AAA. It takes all of 3 minutes. And, if I had daughters, they would have learned a lot, if not all of the same skills before leaving the house. Hell, I know a few 16 year old girls who know more basic skills than a lot of the younger guys posting here.
Coming back to MI after living away from it for 3 years I have to say that MI people are some of the laziest people in the nation. There are a good amount of skilled trade labor jobs out here but people are not looking. The only time that people seem to apply for a job is when it is announced on the local news. Other than that all I hear from people around here is bitching and how there are no jobs.I guess living here in Michigan I see no shortage. You can't walk ten feet without running into a unemployed skilled tradesman. 10.5% unemployment and that doesn't really tell the whole story because we saw the downturn so much earlier than the rest of the country there are tons of people that have exhausted their unemployment.
But, many of the skills are simply knowing how to use basic tools. Changing a light switch means knowing how to operate a screwdriver & being smart enough to turn off the power. Amazingly though, there are people who wouldn't figure out to turn off the power on their own. Now, that's a "skill" in and of itself. How to flip a breaker off to turn off the power. If you don't know how to handle that level of simple skills, you really shouldn't be a homeowner.To be fair, some people's parent or family friend just fixed stuff and went on. However you bring up something important with your use of the word "skill." You have to learn a skill. If no one showed you how, you didn't learn unless you did your own research. You have to actually DO something to learn a skill. The great thing about the Internet is that you can learn skills that you might not otherwise have been able to figure out. My brother used the Internet to fix his lawn mower and refrigerator on his own. He's definitely not savvy when it comes to mechanical devices. Hell my brother could probably tell me it's simple to fix a lawn mower or refrigerator now. But I think my example shows that it's not just about capability, but it's about one's interest in learning a skill. If you want to learn to do something yourself, the information is quite readily available.
I know exactly what you mean. In one stretch tonight, I cooked the equivalent of 130 large pizzas in 120 minutes - plus waited on the customers. What needs to happen/when to spin pizzas, pop any bubbles, pull them out, etc., is sort of a 6th sense that doesn't take up any thought; the act of cooking all that food, plus coordinating with the delivery guy, and person making subs/wings so that everything is ready at the same time - it's almost done subconsciously.
Anyway, someone mentioned something about "how are we going to know how to do those simple things?" I feel bad for some of the people, for they've grown up without a father. It's a father's job - his duty - to make sure that his children know a lot of the most basic skills before they leave the house. I mentioned in another thread recently - my boys knew household wiring by the time they were 10. When they got their own cars, they had to do all the work on them - change their own brakes, fix a broken brake line, replace a fuel pump, change the plugs and plug wires, and... change a friggin tire. It amazes me that people are afraid to change their own tire. Hell, even wearing a business suit, I'd rather change a tire myself than wait for AAA. It takes all of 3 minutes. And, if I had daughters, they would have learned a lot, if not all of the same skills before leaving the house. Hell, I know a few 16 year old girls who know more basic skills than a lot of the younger guys posting here.
i have yet to find a good explanation for "ground" in electrical diagrams. circuits are always supposed to "start" at the positive terminal of a power source and "end" at the negative terminal. but grounds go and screw everything up, so god help me if i ever needed to wire something.
electricity simply doesn't make sense to me from a practical standpoint.
i have yet to find a good explanation for "ground" in electrical diagrams. circuits are always supposed to "start" at the positive terminal of a power source and "end" at the negative terminal. but grounds go and screw everything up, so god help me if i ever needed to wire something.
electricity simply doesn't make sense to me from a practical standpoint.
I went to middle school in the early 1980's. I was lucky enough at the time to be accepted into a school that was experimental. The school was something new they were starting to address problems with high dropouts and problem kids. I wasn't one of those but was recommended by a teacher to go there because she thought my potential was being missed because I often didn't do homework or pay attention long in class, fact is I was bored and saw no point to what they were teaching, where was I going to use any of this stuff ?
The school had the regular stuff like math and English but it also had a lot of vocational classes. These were not just things you took to fill your schedule up but were required to pass your grade. You HAD to take carpentry for at least one year. You HAD to take electronics and you HAD to take drama . They considered these classes as valuable as the basics. They started at 6th grade and by 8th grade you had taken everything from home economics to basic law . The school had a 97% success rate and this is with kids that were often fighting the system. I learned electronics there from a guy big into ham radio who showed us how to make a radio from a coffee can, wire, toilet paper roll, and a razor blade. I also learned how a 4 stroke lawnmower engine worked and how to sew and at the same time I learned how math worked in with all these subjects and how I could use all of this in the real world.
They never focused us on college or even brought up the subject, but they did give me and a lot of others the ability to succeed in the future. The school closed not long after I was in high school due to budget issues. I never had that same feeling of hope during high school that I had at that middle school. High school focused on grades, getting into college, or getting out of high school as fast as possible.
I'd like to get into IT, but everyone wants you to pay your bribe to the local learning institution. There's no reason entry level IT can't work like an apprenticeship program. This shit isn't particle physics or anything. A company would be lucky to have me because I actually give a shit, as opposed to many who pay their money, and expect to coast through a sweet paycheck.
I was a god on the construction site. I could pretty much do what I wanted, and everyone was there to help me. That's the closest to appreciation I ever got for my work. Property jobs sucked. Rural areas weren't bad, but a lot of times you had to deal with suburban trash who thought a little more of their house, and shitty 1/2 acre lot than they should have.