If you have a college degree but are unhappy in your job, would you consider switching to a blue collar occupation in the skilled trades, like plumbing or electrical?
I finished college 5 years ago and I've worked a variety of low paying jobs and never managed to move up the ladder or find fulfillment at work. I'm considering a course correction.
The problem with this plan, and overall it is a good plan, is that trades usually require trade school, which you have to pay for and they require enough of your time that maintaining your present lifestyle will be impossible unless you haven't managed to find employment that gets you out of your parents house.
Even if I could get the funds together to pay for a skilled trade (I'm thinking silver smith), I'd still be looking at a lot of class time which would be taking away from spending time with my wife and daughter.
That said, if you don't have these kinds of concerns and/or your responsibilities wouldn't be affected in a way that was too significantly adverse, the trades are noble professions that can be highly rewarding and lucrative.
If you go into a trade that requires an apprenticeship, you learn by doing paid work in the trade, and you also take night classes at trade school, so it's basically like getting paid to go to school. The only monetary cost would be the temporary reduction in income, and any money you would have to spend on tools.
On Thursday 9/6/12 - 10:26:43 AM LushusPigeon wrote: If you go into a trade that requires an apprenticeship, you learn by doing paid work in the trade, and you also take night classes at trade school, so it's basically like getting paid to go to school. The only monetary cost would be the temporary reduction in income, and any money you would have to spend on tools.
Except the level of work you'd be paid to do during your apprenticeship would be the ow of the low.
Sure, people make a sh*t tonne of money in plumbing and masonry, but they're either running a business of it, or extremely specialized.
Sort of. I have about 12 or 13 years until I can retire, and I'll stick that out. I might go a few extra years, as we'll still have one kid at home. And nothing is set in stone now, of course, but currently the plan for my retirement looks like farming, which my wife is already doing in our yard. That's pretty blue collar.
This is exactly how my career path has gone. Got a degree in business/real estate in 1989, spent a year and a half interviewing for corporate swine. After taking government job tests, post office and city,i wound up with a blue collar city job in 1991. I have good benefits, pay is ADEQUATE but i can retire in three to five years (i ruined my back at work-that is the down side and a possibility for blue collar work....if i need it ultimately i do have extended disability available too.)
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