The Trades

[Huntindad]

Curt, agree with your assessment.
My 2 youngest boys, the youngest(20) got an acedemic scholorship to a small state university. It is a good fit for him.He'll graduate with a degree in engineering and mathmetics. Where he gets his smarts from is beyond me. My other son(28) was in the furniture moving business but recently had to cary the brunt of a concrete table top when the new guy couldn't handle his end. He got a real bad hernia that he'll have surgery on next week.
Kinda a blessing in disguise as I have tried to steer him to a trade. He's a smart kid, but stubburn as hell. He's comteplating his next occupation.

[Mayhem]

Great post.

Erin and I are prime examples that you don’t need a college degree to make an excellent living.

Work ethic goes a long way.

I watch the truck driving industry daily and the shortage there is getting really sad.


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[NSpannTX]

My oldest just started TSTC last week in the plumbing program. He’s worked with a local plumber the last two summers. He loves it. The guy he works with loves him and his work ethic. Says he wants him to come back and take over the business and ultimately buy it from him and he will stay on and train others so he can have more than one crew. Hope he goes this route.
Youngest is going to TSTC next year for instrumentation. He also has some experience and interests in starting a dirt/land management business. We’ll see where he ends up.
Both of these boys aren’t afraid of work so they’ll be ok.

[txchuck]

I always tell kids to do something that can't be done from India via. internet. Something that requires special skill and must be done in on site.

[oktx]

I just depends on what they want to do. Some want to work with their heads, some want to work with their hands. Both can make a great living. Just tell them if they want to work with their hands, they are probably going to work a little harder and a lot of times in less than favorable conditions.

[skinsfan]

Good post, my little brother just finished his undergrad in marketing and took a gig with dell, 38k a year, figures to be about $16-$17 an hour based on his hours. Any of the above trades make more than that.

[rvd]

Great post Curt, I’m not in the trades but I spend hours daily trying to find them to get work done. Throw in some customer service and show up within a couple hours of when you say you will and you can just about name your price.

[Oleman]

In this post I have not seen anything about joining the military and choosing a career. Put your time in and retire and start your own business in what you chose in the military. The door is open for you and NO payments every month, and you served your country. From a veteran, life is good. Curt, a good post and hope it helps someone making a life decision.

[ctom87]

I echo your words, Curt. College degrees are simply a receipt that says you can commit to something for 4 to 7 years. "You need a degree so you don't have to work outside." Well all that has got me is a fat @$$ unfortunately. There is a lot more satisfaction from doing something with your hands also. I built my shed from the ground up and couldn't be more happy. It was my first "big" project. Now I just push papers and document conversations with people who abuse fmla for a living. Very hard to actually get the work done that I was hired to do.

I could go on and on. However, I will say that 529 plans will go toward trade school. So if my son ends up deciding that is for him rather than college, we should be able to cover that.

[Johnny Dangerr]

The top guys in Houston selling used auto parts are making 10K a month...............

[Hoggslayer]

Where can we send a resume?

[Johnny Dangerr]

Where can we send a resume?

Pm sent cowboy..........................................

[bloodtrailer28]

Very very well said Curt! Can't hardly find anyone that wants to get out and actually work anymore....we do residential construction as well as commercial and it's hard to find good trades. They are basically naming their price around here in the residential world and getting it. I can't imagine what it will be like in the next 10 years or so.

[Shane]

Great advice, Curt. Some degrees are great for the right people. I also see kids graduating from colleges with lots of student loan debt they incurred to get a degree that doesn't give them much of an earnings potential. They'll be in deep debt for years. But, hey! At least they have a degree, right?

Kids need to look at the long term value of the degree plan they are considering BEFORE they go into debt to get it. If the numbers don't look good, they should choose a different degree or look at a technical or trade school that might be a better option for them. A college diploma doesn't mean much if you're making big payments on the debt for years and years after graduation.

[TP3]

Good advice.

I borrowed about 20k and Got a BS in Biology, mostly use that for catching pigs.
I use my 10th grade geometry learnings to build cabinets.
Only one of those pays the bills...