Want my nephew to look into to trade school - what trade should he look into?

[nageov3t]

or firefighter, law enforcement

at least around here, it's only a viable option if you're willing to work in the inner city.

jobs in any of the towns where you're not working in a war-zone are more or less filled by people with the right connections.

 

[DigDog]

head chefs tend to have a pretty good life, decent wages and paid meals. AND they do zero work, so .. there. it's not like you can do poorly in that line of work anyways.

 

[vi edit]

Plumbing is a shitty job....but by the prices they charge there's certainly money to be made. It's not a job a lot of people want to do...but is a necessity.

Masons are a another trade that don't have the buzz of being an electrician, but there is plenty of money to be made in side jobs (f the union). You'll have to labor and journeyman for a while before you get to do real work, but there is always stuff to do. Basements, brick veneers, stone work, tile setting, repairing stuff, little projects, ect. My Dad could be booked 7 days a week doing side jobs if he wanted them.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Electrcian. If I had to do it over, I would've gone into a trade like that.

 

[richardycc]

head chefs tend to have a pretty good life, decent wages and paid meals. AND they do zero work, so .. there. it's not like you can do poorly in that line of work anyways.

guess you don't work in the restaurant business, watching Gordon Ramsay shows don't count. You don't just become the head chef overnight, and the head chefs are usually the owner or friends of the owner, they don't do much, because they have people trying to work their way up but will never be the head chef to do all the work for them.

 

[Jeff7]

?

I was wondering that too.
Though I have seen some people welding in T-shirts.

Localized short-wave UV exposure...no thank you.

It depends on the type of welding, too. Some welding types will certainly throw out a lot more white-hot splurts of metal than others.

If he can get in, Air Force or Navy, electronics and telecommunications tech.

US Air Force operates the largest community college in the world.

In four years, he can earn a two year degree and enough GI bill to pay for four more years of college.

Uno

Good god...>350k students. I've never even lived in a municipality with that many people.

18,500 acres.
The Penn State branch I went to had <1000 acres, and a lot of that was because the buildings were spaced pretty far apart. Long, hilly walkways are especially fun when they're covered with snow and ice.

 

[FoBoT]

plumber
no matter how bad things get, people will pay to fix their toilets. it would take a few generations after the loss of indoor plumbing before most people would get used to/accept crapping in an outhouse every day

 

[Texashiker]

?

I have seen so much welding, if I told you about it, your head would probably explode.

The real money is in tig welding, which will burn your skin in a matter of minutes.

If you "really" want to make the money, get into alloy tig welding, like on titanium.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Structural aircraft maintenance and inspection. There's jobs all over the country and private, military and, aircraft companies are screaming for qualified people.

 

[pontifex]

novel and crazy idea here...ask him?

 

[NL5]

Electrician or fitter. Industrial work, not resi. Especially if you live in a state that requires a license. Good pay, great benefits. He will have to know some math. Trig for either trade I believe.

 

[Squisher]

Industrial electricians are in pretty high demand. I think tool and die is pretty much been off-shored, however there is still a lot of machining jobs done here and it can be pretty fulfilling if they allow you to make your own models and do your own tool pathing.

Quality assurance is something I'd think about. Sit in a semi-clean room and make computer models of components and then run programs using those models to probe the components on a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). Everything today is Validation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUgWBlEewyk

 

[iGas]

It depends on his interests, skill set, and where he's like to live as well as lifestyle.

HVAC combine with plumbing (heating and cooling) can be lucrative and a stable/steady job in any market if he is mechanical minded.

Pipefitting/steamfitting, gas fitting, as well as steel fitting if he is mechanical minded and is interested in working in the oil & gas industry, and perhaps ship building.

Electrical is use in every industry, however it is considered as a sub trade and depends greatly on other trades.

Heavy duty mechanic is a support trade that also use at shipyards and in the oil/gas industry.

Instrumentation mechanic if he is mechanical, electrical, and computer/problem solver minded person. This trade is well pay and is well respected in aviation, ship repair, and oil/gas plants.

IMHO, one can't go wrong with any of the above trade.

I have the following degrees and certs: industrial design, computer science, plumbing, gas, HVAC, pipefitting/steamfitting. And, there are oil/gas industrial contracts that I can take in North America as well as Australia with salary that are 4X more than what I made in IT/industrial designing.

 

[rival]

Being an electrician has been good to me. Have him apply at the local union or nonunion apprenticeship program in the area. I did 5 years of school and 10,000 hours to become a journeyman (The school then was 2 nights a week, 3 hours each night. But some areas have changed to day school). They will have him take a general entry exam to rank applicants and probably give an interview to those who come out on top. The market for construction just isn't that great lately so they may not be accepting anyone new, unless you're someones son/brother/cousin etc etc.

The math is fairly minimal, mostly trig/geometry with DC circuits and such. Not a whole lot is needed in the field, mostly trig for conduit bending. It is a highly respected field, and there is always opportunity for side work. In which case I often tell people i do something else for a living to get out of the 'no, i don't want to install your ceiling fan'.

 

[vi edit]

Pipefitting/steamfitting, gas fitting, as well as steel fitting if he is mechanical minded and is interested in working in the oil & gas industry, and perhaps ship building.

Pipefitting is going to be growing down in the US. Many counties are starting make sprinkers part of mandatory building codes. All new houses will have to be fitted with them eventually.

 

[iGas]

Pipefitting is going to be growing down in the US. Many counties are starting make sprinkers part of mandatory building codes. All new houses will have to be fitted with them eventually.

Sprinkler fitting can be lucrative as well, but it is seasonal and depends on construction.

 

[gonzaga1751]

I also recommend electrician.

My stepdad went 4 years in the navy studying it and did 2 years of CC for it. He is now the boss for the region pulling down over 100k.

 

[Eug]

People keep saying for electrician do industrial not residential.

Why?

A couple of guys I do say they prefer residential because the work is easier and they still pull in 6-digit $ a year if they work independently (and not as a subcontractor for home builds, etc.).

Sure, part of the reason they pull in that much money is because IMO they overcharge their customers, but nonetheless they do it, and get paid for doing it.

Are you saying industrial because the work is more interesting, or because of the pay?

---

However, ultimately, the OP's nephew should do whatever he damn well pleases, within reason. If he doesn't want to study a trade, he probably shouldn't.

 

[deadlyapp]

People keep saying for electrician do industrial not residential.

Why?

A couple of guys I do say they prefer residential because the work is easier and they still pull in 6-digit $ a year if they work independently (and not as a subcontractor for home builds, etc.).

Sure, part of the reason they pull in that much money is because IMO they overcharge their customers, but nonetheless they do it, and get paid for doing it.

Are you saying industrial because the work is more interesting, or because of the pay?

---

However, ultimately, the OP's nephew should do whatever he damn well pleases, within reason. If he doesn't want to study a trade, he probably shouldn't.

Residential is still in a downturn. Residential electricians are not in huge demand as I see.

I would definitely look into some of the things iGas mentioned. The US oil and gas pipeline business is going to be ridiculously booming over the next five years. I've seen a few billion dollars in approved construction from some of the biggest pipeline companies in Texas going through the rockies and up along the eastern seaboard, not to mention wherever Keystone ends up dropping through.

 

[Leros]

Seems like welders don't make much compared to other trades. I worked in a factory for a bit and the experienced welders made $13/hr.

 

[Soccerman06]

Seems like welders don't make much compared to other trades. I worked in a factory for a bit and the experienced welders made $13/hr.

Random joe schmoe with no skills shooting a mig gun will make peanuts. Its like being an electrician/plumber helper, they know nothing other than pointing and pulling a trigger and watching the bright lights. When you have aws 6g pipe certs or something that that requires skill you make bank. For reference a friend of mine working in the middle of nowhere ND (SD?) pipeline makes well over $150k but lives in a trailer with no electricity and uses communal bathrooms, while another friend barely makes $12/hr working for polaris.

I do heavy steel welding (2" thick stuff) for CAT and do much better than most. Just like everything else, proper schooling and job training will give you a much better job than nothing.

 

[Colt45]

Millwright ain't bad, haven't seen anyone mention that in this thread. Depends where you live, but most anything industrial needs one or two, from places like breweries and milk plants, random manufacturing, to a bunch at any heavy industry outfit, mines, mills, etc.

What region is he in? I think welding would suck balls in the south, it sucks enough here in the summer.

(industrial) electrician is pretty decent, too.

 

[dawp]

underwater welder, pay's good, and plenty of time off if what I've heard is correct.

http://www.aws.org/education/plunge.html

 

[ch33zw1z]

The math is fairly minimal, mostly trig/geometry with DC circuits and such. Not a whole lot is needed in the field, mostly trig for conduit bending. It is a highly respected field, and there is always opportunity for side work. In which case I often tell people i do something else for a living to get out of the 'no, i don't want to install your ceiling fan'.

Cmon, there's a six pack in it for you.

 

[highland145]

Pipefitting is going to be growing down in the US. Many counties are starting make sprinkers part of mandatory building codes. All new houses will have to be fitted with them eventually.

Interesting. Wonder if a company would/could solely do this?