I'm also seeking contacts at the HOME DEPOT FOUNDATION, specifically those with involvement in the Path to Pro program, or content development. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I have an honest and actually easy way to fix this problem. Actually laughable stupid easy way to fix this problem. Change the culture and that is actually easier than you might think. Hell its as easy as changing a lightbulb almost. Make an Anime show. Get some anime writers artists and voice actors and dub that shit into every single language on the planet and release it world wide. If you really want to fix the problem then fight the changing culture with the changing culture. Hell the most popular games are Minecraft, Raft, Micro Big World, Fortnite, and many many other building based games. Hell even Terraria is mostly building. You have Stardew valley and other farming building games like that that are overly popular. Endorse the culture and create anime and a straight up construction game and you will change the culture. Introduce the young into the culture of the trades by literally introducing the younger into the world. Make anime and you will see an instant rise in people actually wanting to do the trades. Actually show people that the culture that they are and have been in love with for decades are the trades and they can do shit that they have been doing in gaming for years in real life. Actually show the people that the culture is not what they hate but what they love. To change to culture show people the truth and that is they have been in trades for decades without even knowing it. Hell children have master red brick mastery in mine craft and that is pretty fucking close to plumbing and electrical. Make anime and readd shop class in schools. To change this problem is not hard at all it just takes the rarest thing in the universe which is common fucking sense. There is not a hatred for the trades its just people are too stupid to realize the connections to the trades.
Hell to add to my other stuff another stupidly common thing that every fucking kid for the last 70 fucking years has been playing with for literally decades. Legos. They are literally the building blocks of the trades. Kid have been using Legos for fucking almost a fucking century. Just show a video of someone building a shed with a side by side video of someone putting together a Lego House. And have the kids in the class have their own Lego set to build that same house. Partner with Legos to build a full detailed house and have the kids literally put together the house. Doing this might cost a little bit of starter funds but you have been flushing billions of times that down the drain. Have the kids build a Lego house to be able to take home after they finish it in class and you will get the love of building and the trades back into society so fast that your head would explode. The truth in the matter is that people are fucking stupid and fail to realize the simple realistic facts. Hell even send a full life sized house kit to a ton of schools so that the students and put together a Lego house that has realistic housing items like sinks and wiring but make it all out of Legos and show the kids that the trades are fun. Partner with Legos and have the kids build a house and other stuff and you will see the instant change in society faster than you died when you called your wife fat. If Home Depot partnered with Legos and you partnered with anime studios to make a good anime with a bit over the top crazy and let the artists do their own style drawings but have the theme of plumbing and carpentry and electrical and other shit and you had all that stuff also with companies going to schools to build Lego houses with kids you will see such a change in society that even how fast your ex changed from happy to death mode than when you said "HELL YES THAT DRESS MAKES YOU LOOK FAT AS FUCKING HELL!!!!" Use common fucking sense and know what the younger generations are actually into and then you can change the cultural hatred.
Toys!!! The BIGGER BOY Work Bench for Myself! The cut some goods things off too Early, too. Those lil Kitchen playsets too!!! IWant A Real Working One!!! Plus... We Should All get A Toolbelt! S/O K.
The gears that make the machine work don't grease themselves. We can't all be conductors. The most critical roles may be some of the least glamorous, but they can Fun! Even in my 40s I get giddy when I get a new toy.....tool, when I get a new tool. Also when I discover a more efficient way to do a thing
@@Rezin_8 I am in my 40s, have been a home builder, reno, and general maintenance for over 20 years, I was also an OSHA certified site inspector I am disabled due to a drunk driver in 2007. I continued to work all the way up to 2017 when my wife talked sense into me and I finally retired from contract labour. I thought I could play the General Contractor game but when on a jobsite I can't not work. I just enjoy it too much. Thankfully I was able to qualify for Social Security Disability. It's not much, but it helps. I would love to volunteer at a community Trade School program! It is a shame when we experienced tradesmen can't pass on our decades of hard won knowledge and experience
41 years old, been in the steel trades since I was 17. Started as a welder, and have advancing into nondestructive testing. Every year I read about a “ shortage of welders “, however, look on indeed and most jobs are sub $20 per hour. That was alright back in 99 when fast food paid $5.15, now they pay $15. Not much less. Its not a shortage of tradesmen, it’s a shortage of people willing to pay them.
Same with the other areas ….the pay is low,u drive too long also, u don’t get full time for full year….Layoffs ur best friend …just remember, in a couple months,we might have recession and, trade guys will be the first to feel it …just remember that
My nephew studied welding in high school and got certified his senior year. At 18 years old he started at $21/hour full-time + benefits. Move to where the work is and you get paid more.
Serious. I went into welding in school. If I wanted a welding job, I was gonna make 15 an hour, and be required to work 12 hr 6 day weeks. I realized real quickly that everything we were taught about trades is a lie. You don't actually make more. You just work so many ot hours that on paper it looks like you make more, but actually dont. Instead you get oted to death. The sickest truth is that fast food has almost caught up wage wise in my area. Or passed us. On top of the toxic, 3 time divorcé, alcohol/tobacco addict coworkers you're surrounded by. Its just not worth it. I'm not getting paid enough in that field to baby sit a bunch of old timers with a chip on their shoulder. I just wanna work, and see my family. Then they call you lazy because you think family is more important than them. That's the biggest gut punch.
The trades aren’t dying because of a lack of interest they’re dying from a complexity of entry. As an electrician and carpenter myself I find it pretty difficult for new people to enter. The path from off the street to journeyman isn’t easy to navigate without the help of someone in the trade. Fix the process and you’ll fix the shortage. Starting wages and tool requirements are a whole other topic one could dive into as well.
Yes this 100% - 25 year old, 3 years as an electrician now. Figuring out all the steps so I can become my own contractor, and just the first step of getting a job is soooo difficult. These older vets keep screaming shortage, but it's an absolute nightmare to find a job unless as you mentioned, you know somebody willing to let you in. And then it's good luck staying because the trades in so many places is so cutt throat. Tradesmen themselves are on a majority from my experience fairly toxic because of the bullshit coming from the white collar world making it harder on us.
The stats disprove your theory. The amount of people going into trade schools, and entry level jobs is dropping. I'm a welder and I can tell you that only 6 people from my high school graduation class are now involved in anything pertaining a trade. The rest are either in retail, some sort of drink proveyor, or still in college. Btw I'm a welder/fabricator 100% self taught
I strongly empathize4 I was told to be an electrician you either find a apprenticeship with a company (which can strongly vary depending on where you live) or take traditional approach, go to a union (which I found leans towards nepotism or inside connections for new hires).
Employer: “It’s insane you yoong people don’t wanna work these days or learn to swing a hammer” Me: “I would like to start an apprenticeship with your company” Employer: “We’re actually only interested in hiring apprentices with at least 2 years experience” Me: oh okay.. employer: I can’t find any new apprentices to replace my journeyman when they retire. Kids these days are lazy This is the trades in a nutshell
theres a real issue of comapnies claming and getting covid funds due to "not having workers" while they do everything in their power to prevent real workers from getting the job. even worse now that most jobs use AI or computers to automaticly feed thru the aplication so if your not the spitting immage they are looking for your aplication will just be automaticly deleted.
@@cg6217 for real, I’ve only been an electrician through the grace of my Step-dad lol. I’m learning through him before I get my license and start teaching people myself for our company.
I was a carpenter for 7 years. People treat you like crap, the pay is low, the toll on the body is high, conditions are often poor, and the hours are long. It simply is not currently worth it to pursue in my opinion. I am thankful for what I learned but I doubt I will ever go back.
I am guessing that prebuilt homes don’t have nearly as much of a toll on the human body as does manmade homes more so of an assembly line? Depending of course on how many units they sell …
Most small owner operators I know make well over 100k a year. No college... no debt... on the job training... and once your qualified you get to employ other people to help create income for your family. Its horrible.... its good that you left. The less people willing to work for a living in the trades makes me that much more valuable.
I saw this coming 20 years ago when I tried to get into the trades fresh out of highschool. Applied for all kinds of trades. Plumbing, carpentry, electrical, you name it and I faced the same answer from every single employer "You don't have any experience." I asked how I was supposed to get experience if no one would hire me and was told that was my problem. This was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
@@masaharumorimoto4761 Oh yeah, I remember those days. Came out in 95 ready to go, and remember that same crap. One of my friends managed to get a carpenters apprenticeship - with his uncle (his dads brother). And it wasn't even easy for him. His dad had to eventually get the uncle on the phone and blow him up because the uncle kept promising the apprenticeship, and never giving a start date. Everyone else was basically shit out of luck.
My question to you is how old are you. I'm here trying to figure out how to find decent people to work and I'm hearing stories that I have never experienced myself. I've never had a problem finding a job even though I had 0 experience at it. Got bounced doing a little research on police hiring protocals and discovered something very interesting they don't want intelligent people to apply, they don't want honesty, they just want stupid people that are good lies and can be programed efficiently. That's pretty much the hiring process in the US. If you want a job you have to learn to be a really good lier and be able to back it up when the time comes to prove yourself. The thing everyone here needs to do is get a realistic vision of themselves and pursue it. When I ask a potential trainee what they want in life most of the time they say they want to be wealthy like me. That's a process that takes a lot of time and failures.
My son did a two year welding program in high school. Then after high school graduation went to Mississippi and did the State’s free welding program for shipbuilding, and gained four American Welding Society certifications. Yet when we tried to get him a job as a beginning welder at shipbuilding companies no one wanted to hire him. So, four months ago he joined the Army. They’re training him to be a medic. So it’s likely three hard years of training will never be used.
I was unemployed last year. I applied for over 100 apprenticeships. Didn't get a single call back. If young people aren't joining the trades, maybe it's because of a lack of entry-level jobs.
@@veryfrozen3271 So true there like no we don't want you come back after 10 years of experience its like how am I support to get experience if every freakin place requires 10 just to get started and on top of that the pay for 10years of experience is crap
THIS IS ON POINT. .....iv been doing the same thing ,been in auto over 15 years now all of the sudden no matter how many I send out I get no response back
I've got an idea find a place where houses are being built ask in person for a JOB do that at every constitution site you find and you will get hired sooner or later I worked construction for thirty years and do not remember any company I worked at offering apprenticeships unless you were the bosses kid
You’re the only older person I’ve seen that doesn’t talk down to the younger generation for not knowing skills that were never taught to them. Thank you for that.
Lol the old heads in this gig have been dealing with blame games since the beginning there just more complex tactics in use these days but u would be surprised how many of the older guys get it bout the younger generation….construction is a cut throat business not many cut out for it…. In my book anybody who shows up is okay by me the rest will fall into place usually…. In this business I learned early on it’s not worth it to work for someone else usually…. So learn what u got to learn and figure out what ur good at and how to provide it to a customer and get in like that, how I did…. Even then u have to find motivation from other places other then just monetary reasons or one want make it to the finish line…. One day the working man will be a rare commodity allready is….
@@chrisyurk6367 Usually those people went through the same thing when they were younger and feel the need to 'pass it on'. A real man wouldn't be like that. Congrats on your journeyman!
As a 30 year old that gave the trades a good college try before going to college, I can say the most significant thing is people in the trades treat newcomers like shit.
They are paying for the fact that it's one of the only domain that is not willing to invest on teaching properly and we are stuck learning on the job with impatient people that would like to make more profits out of their employees right there and now. Most of them can't find people to work for them anymore lol
That's not always true. I can't speak for the commercial construction environment, but the residential construction environment is usually very positive. At least that's true where i'm from in Vancouver Canada
Great book for a beginner . th-cam.com/users/postUgkxD-QRFQz730FJEh4f9BYSf-nkIMIC9hL_ this book really starts from the beginning, as in it explains what basic tools are and how to use them. But when it gets to the art of creating joints and how and when to use them this book really starts to teach you something. At least that was my experience.
The issue I had with the trades is that everytime I've applied to any of them I was always pushed away for "lack of enough experience" instead of being welcomed and trained. These trade companies need to be more willing to train people even if that means slowing down a bit for the sake of growing their work force.
Yeah, only unions or “community” college/Vocational schools/trade schools will give you the experience not many companies are willing to train people as it hinders their bottom line. This has always been the case, and is why guilds were so popular leading up to the Industrial Revolution.
19yr old carpenter here. I got very lucky with the company I got hired. I applied to about 12 and only one offered me a job where the rest rejected me for not enough experience. Yet I had several years of finish and labor positions.
Absolutely correct. I'm a veteran steelworker and welder. I have no problem training people and my training retains people. Sadly, many bosses are still in high school and can't think beyond their ego.
@@KRYMauL When it comes to welding, trade schools NEVER teach realistic experience. NEVER. In fact there was a time that if welding companies knew you went to certain welding schools (diploma mills), they would not hire you.
Your “where did all the carpenters go” video helped me convince my parents to let me leave college and enroll in trade school. I’m now in a CoOp program through the school and an electrician’s apprentice making pretty good money.
@MearsBros, I’ve been an electrician for 32 years(90% in industrial),it was only bad right after 9/11. With the initiative to go green there’s more need than ever for an electric update to our system. If you can get into industrial you’ll be set for a very rewarding career. Good luck ⚡️⚡️👷🏻♂️
Yeah, well. Best thing to do is get a college degree anyway . . . in business maybe . . . so that you can run your own business and not let bosses take advantage of you.
Been building all my life. Retired 8 years ago. The money isn't there anymore. Everyone wants the cheapest labor they can find regardless of the quality. Most of the honest companies are a thing of the past. And so am i.
A good & reliable chippy is almost impossible to find & you aren't cheap. I've been A chippy labourer for yrs, I even freak out how much it cost to get things done. Materials are ridiculously priced. Jobs are more robots less ppl with $. It's simple maths. I worked for minimum wage for yrs just to help ppl make $ & get things done. They didn't care if i busted my back doing it. I gave up. I can watch movies & careless.
@@gaiterat6187 Naturally they get away with paying and hiring whoever works for less. I makes no difference which party is in power they like bringing in immigrant labor legal or illegal if they can pay them less. Politicians do nothing but grandstand on the issue because they are funded by Wall street. Only by organizing all workers into unions can wages be pushed up. Bosses only want to pay the lowest wages, work you the longest hours and cut social and tax costs to the bone.
I'm waiting for trucking to really start hurting. My generation is the last to have old school skills. Most trucks are automatic now so companies will be hard pressed to find drivers that can drive a 18 speed transmission or operate various niche equipment.
I've seen the trades decline. I feel this is part of the problem. They want more out of us for less money. The working conditions have gotten worse as well.
One thing people dont talk about is that tools suck these days, they are garbage and you cant get better unless finding something old. I watched a video where it literally took less force from older tooling than it did top of line these days, I believe it was a wrenchs that the guu was testing. Watching cheap chinese taps break hand tapping copper is also very tragic.
Come on... Don't you want to ruin your health, watch your family slip away and see everything you built get burnt down in the honor of some criminal? Who need money and to be recognized as an honest and contributing member of society when you can have all of that?
Meanwhile I have no reason to ever need anyone of any trade because my landlord doesn't allow me to make repairs where I live and he just hires whoever is cheapest.
And few are willing to accept/teach new guys on top of all that. It's the responsibility of the learned men to pass on their skills to those following them for the preservation of both the craft and society itself, but many older guys would unfortunately prefer to bully newbies for not already possessing knowledge/skills they have no way of knowing, cause that's how their daddy taught them so now it's their turn to take that out on someone else's son.
The problem with the trades is not that is has a messaging or perception problem, it’s that the perception is true. I’m 24, I tried to get into the trades for 4-6 years to get into the trades. I worked in roofing insulation, and a concrete company. Bad experience after bad experience pushed me into the trucking industry. I was consistently the hardest working young man out there. Never complained, always proactive. Wes never given a rase, never shown appreciation and lied about from jealous workers. I tried to get hired on as an apprentice for other trades over and over and could never get in. On top of all this I started a young family and realized the trades wouldn’t pay enough anyway to support my family anyway. Now I work 65 hours a week as a driver and never see my family. I make the same wage as a journeyman electrician and still just barely get buy. The trades are already dead
It all comes down to the disconnect from upper management and superiors with their junior level workers. They expect you to have their knowledge, but give you bare minimum pay, and then complain that you aren’t good enough. It’s the same situation in Engineering to a certain degree. Pay may be better, especially at junior/entry level positions, but the expectations, especially for entry, are absurd. Hence why we have an “engineering shortage”, and why companies outsource this work overseas. COVID-19 is really waking the world up to this issue cause now we are seeing that massive gap in experience. It’s like a corroded piece of painted steel. Once you remove that layer of paint on top, you will notice the deep corroded out hole underneath caused by water leaking through holes. Once you remove the very skilled and knowledgeable seniors due to old age and forced retirement due to COVID-19, you will see that massive gap caused by absurd expectations (water), and it ain’t pretty.
Yes dude I just turned 25 but the last 2 years I work 2 warehouse jobs that had three main trades I was interested in but the people I work with either lied or my colleagues at the time would get piss off with either me or themselves when they fuck up and let it out on me and basically it takes times to get me piss off but once you do it’s a whole scene even rn I’m still debating to get into a trade or give up and just become a supervisor at Walmart 😂
Wow, all I hear is sour grapes. No one told me I was special so I quit. Wtf. I’ve been in masonry for 12 years. Was a laborer for 5 of them showing I was committed to the lifestyle. No one wants to train someone who isn’t serious and waste their time. But if you have a good attitude and not be trying to out perform everyone else on the same damn team the old heads are usually cool about teaching anyway. After laying brick for 7 years I’m good at it. So good I start my own business. I make great money, my own schedule and I’m my own boss. It’s all about getting the skills. That’s it. Not recognition, extravagant pay, or attaboys, not until after you’re the fucking best at what you do.
I was doing hvac sheet metal, and the boss who was very skilled literally said to me “ I don’t teach because if I teach you, you will want a raise, and I won’t give you a raise and then you will leave”. This is also the same guy who constantly complained that young people don’t want to work and he can’t find good help. Meanwhile I’m showing up early, i am watching TH-cam videos, staying late on my own time practicing with scrap, cleaning the shop at 26 years old. Yeah I did a year at 15$ an hour, cut up, bleeding, filthy. I did duct installs and fabrication for 15$ an hour. FML I really thought trades would take me somewhere. Hahahahaha.
That’s just a bad boss, Aron. They’re out there. Sometimes you have to take a quest for a career path. But the right boss, who is looking for people to teach, will most likely change your life.
I was thinking the same thing. A boss who wants to keep you low value also has less to offer to his customers. If he fears you leaving with a little training, then jump the gun and leave anyways! Even if it's a latteral move with the same pay, at least it's somewhere new, with new opportunities.
I’ve been in HVAC/sheet metal for 19 years. I am now an estimator. That is a bad boss and unfortunately that attitude happens a lot. I have personally fired multiple Forman on the spot when hearing them say the same thing to apprentices or when I’ve heard them say “they won’t teach someone how to take their job”
U sound non union like most sad and angry people in these comments. I did over a year as a tinner and in that short time I was treated like shit and paid like shit but I applied to all union for over a year and got into pipefitters and now making over double what I use to get paid and only going up don’t give up.
23 now and been a shipfitter for about 4 years and the biggest problem I have with trades has a the willingness for companies to pay people properly their worth
If they don't pay... Walk away. I did. Best decision of my life, and the best part is I'm no longer killing myself to pay the welfare of those who would look down on me while burning my life's work to honor some criminal who abused them.
I weld and fit steel ships. Where you located. I'm a dual citizen working in BC. Always looking for the next gig. Got about a year left on my current project.
I think the biggest problem is from the older generation. They can't teach or communicate properly, then they get angry as hell when their people are having a difficult time learning. The process is so frustrating that young people would rather go somewhere else. That old style of, "You'll learn by screwing up." Just doesn't work, especially not if the teacher has a short fuse. It also doesn't help if they're pushing 60+ hours a week on a generation who values their time more than the low wage they're being paid
No it's because you kids think you know it all already. You have no patience and give up on yourselves too fast. Take responsibility and stop blaming everyone but yourself. And can't even blame the parents because the power was taken away from parents decades ago.
@@th-cc6ei or you could just not be an asshole and still help someone learn from their mistakes. And perhaps not assume that they don't have patience or wish to take responsibility. Just like I shouldn't assume that you get drunk every night and beat your wife. Even though it seems like you're the type. Not fun is it?
I don’t know about other trades, but I’ve worked in HVAC since 1993 and unbelievably contractors are cutting wages right now. Many are paying what they did 15 years ago. It’s really hard to take this message seriously anymore. The world may need to be built, but HVAC workers can’t afford to live in the houses they help build. Until wages catch up, this shortage will continue.
This is the same with me. I worked 23 years as an auto tech and wages never increase. Now they have a shortage of people who want to be techs. And I wouldn’t want anyone to get Into this industry. Heck even I left for better paying jobs.
@@marvin469 I started off at seven dollars an hour back in 1993. By 1996 I was making $8 and hour. By 2010 it was $14 an hour. Even today in 2022 the same firm was starting service tax off at $14 an hour with a maximum of $20 an hour. With all of the tools which are not cheap and now they want you to be North American technician excellent certified, which is also expensive it’s not worth it. truth be told there are good technicians out there and making very good money, but they are getting rare. I make decent money now because I got out of HVAC
Every time I worked on a construction crew there were some real monsters and D gens. A lot of drug attics and alcoholics, always worried about where my tools are. The supervisors were always so pissy. I liked building stuff, really enjoyed framing, but it wasn’t worth dealing with all the A-holes.
Because as a carpenter, i was building homes i could never afford... As a DevOps engineer, i can now start thinking about getting a house, its not just a dream anymore.
Wild to hear this as an Australian where the average salary of a carpenter is 75,000 a year. I make 39 dollars an hour building trusses as a 22 yr old with no prior experience or qualifications. What were you paid if you don't mind me asking, I'm just curious.
@@mekal779 after currency conversion your house prices are pretty similar to my area. The company I work for uses a weird European style of building, I'm also required to design certain specialty sections (some buildings have requirements leaving the predesigned trusses non viable) myself but I taught myself CAD and the basics of engineering online, mentioned this in the interview and he tested me on it. I passed. I wouldn't say it's unskilled labour but it's certainly not that advanced and something anyone decently computer literate who's strong and good with their hands could learn on their own.
@@j4y167 not hating on programmers. I love it as a hobby but I make money off trades and I can easily make $3k a week. Not sure what he’s talking about that he couldn’t afford a house, especially when you are obtaining the skills to actually make a house which in turn substantially reduces the cost of a home.
For real I've tried in my local carpenters and plumbers and pipe fitters. They don't call even after passing the test the drug test not to mention the dedication to stand outside while it's snowing freezing your face and hands that when you get in you can't barely write your name smh
Autobody is a good skill to have, if you can do autobody you can do work better than a lot of yacht workers. Most people in Marine don't know a ton about MEK and resin mixing percentages, or good use of fillers or anything. They just kind of assume "a lot of everything" is what works, which is really not the case. Too many layers of fiberglass on top of each other with too much MEKP can lead to burning, which can make fragile structures. Too little harder in too cold of an environment can lead to improper curing. I lot of auto guys work in cleaner more professional environments where that stuff can be done right, boats are often in crapper boatyards, marinas, or someone's backyard. The point of what I'm saying is one day you can go work on boats and charge 150$ an hour for every person you have working on that boat and make killer money, even if it's just yourself. The cost of starting it is normally lower than an auto shop, because you don't need lifts, a shop, specialty tools, etc.
@@leonelgalan9431 yep. Where I grew up, it’s who you knew to get into a trade. I went to a vocational school, did well, but never got a call from companies or unions. I knew others too, and that was back 30yrs ago. I do quite well now without working a trade. Screw the unions, they’re all a scam.
@@josh3326 yeah it's crazy I have a journey men buddy in the pipe fitters guess his name and word don't mean anything to the guy that runs the apprenticeships lol
My high school, without saying it directly, basically told me that I would be a loser if I didn't go to a traditional college or university. "Uneducated", I'm now a project manager whose biggest professional struggle is to find suitable workers to complete various parts of my projects. The thing is .. we pay really well. My teachers were wrong.
My father used to say that teachers have a very limited view of life because they never left school. The modern way of thinking now in education is to attempt to hire from other sectors of the economy so that the instruction can be as current and relevant to real life as possible. This was not always the case.
same here. 9th grade drop out. state licensed commercial contractor since 24.... 20 years now. done city parks, playgrounds for schools, federal gov projects, hotels, etc. millionaire by 30. owned house at 25. 18 trucks and bmw now. cant find anyone that can hammer a nail or drive a screw or read a tape. or wipe their own azz. no one can put a blade on a mower, start a blower or wind a weed eater. you have to hold their dix when they pee even. employees need to pay us to babysit
In the province I live in Canada we were actually really encouraged to go into the trades. But honestly after I've graduated high school I think the biggest problem is that there's plenty more opportunities for better pay, hours, less wear and tear on the body and a better work culture. Very few people want to get yelled at for being new at something and not knowing everything immediately.
Personally i like the part with being yelled at, i hate this whole "the workplace has to be nice and everybody has to talk nicely to everybody" its not like that, and if its okay to put some hars words out makes the whole atmosphere more realistic. I have had a employee who was like that, every word was buttered down and when you told her some hard facts she worked 50% less simply because she felt like it. In my trade times, you got called out, asked what the fuck you were doing there and to put you head behind it. Thats a fact, if you dont know something, figure it out, if you cant, ask someone. If you fuck it up thats fine but stand behind what you have done and bear the consequences. I am 22 and i can tell you there are a lot of people who are a lot older than me and still have not figured it out. If i fucked up and you shout at me thats fine i deserve it, i thats not the case i will fire back. No arrogance is allowed to be involved here just professionalism and this can be loud to!
I was in the trades for a decade. Finally I got tired of the layoffs and wrecking my body. I got into IT and now I make almost 3x money from my home office.
You need to look at the bigger picture, your getting paid less but you're learning a trade, get 4 or 5 years under your belt, save money and start your own business, when you work for someone else your job is to make money for them, you start your own business and I guarantee you will make more money in a day than you will in any sector of IT, Damn a good plumber can make 100 an hour easy if on an hourly rate, if it's a priced job can make 1500 to 2000 in a day, you can't expect to just walk in and get the big bucks, if your employer was paying you 20 an hour i guarantee he was charging the customer 50 or 60 an hour for you, it's not easy but you put in the work and after some time you will see the benefits
I just pulled up job listings for carpenters in my area. Starting salary appears to be around $31k/year. Crazy idea, maybe if the salaries were higher, it would be easier to attract people to those jobs.
I dropped out of college and stumbled into electrical, ended up doing low voltage. I'm making more than most people my age (I'll be 26 a week after writing this comment) but it kinda stagnates and the only way to make good money is by putting in 60+ hours a week, which sucks since I'm more of a family man. My wife and I want to have kids and I'm not going to sacrifice time with them, so I've been thinking about finding another career path if I can't find anything in this trade that pays more within the next few years. I'd be more than happy to stay if the pay goes up
Key word “starting.” The trades have been appealing because you can start a career without school. Intelligent men start their career and build their life then start a family. Stupid men will start a family before they’ve built their career then complain they don’t make enough for family expenses. That’s like putting up the framing of a house on a wet foundation. It doesn’t work. There is a reason men don’t hit their prime until their 30s. So all you men complaint about the starting pay of any job, it’s just because you tried to shortcut life and fell behind others who didn’t.
That's crazy. Our entry-level people at the bank in IT on helpdesk, in the Midwest, low cost of living, and we still pay 40K/year to new people. Also, good benefits, and the bank doesn't lay people off in this department.
@@ummmkay1744 “you didn’t make the big money until 4-6 years in” Ya no duh. It takes years to build up the pay. Same with literally every field. “The experience between a 6 year and a 20 year is incredibly noticeable” Again no duh. I bet a 30 years would be more noticeable still. That’s how experience works. It increases with time. No there are a lot of companies even here are TH-cam that so honest work and make a living. The trades have never made you wealthy but they have always provided a living until modern times when people are more materialistic then ever. You want the biggest tv, house, and car. An employers could offer 50k and they would complain it’s not enough, then raise it to 60k and the employee would just add more bills then complain it’s not enough. I’m not buying that the greed of modern society is responsible for the trades dying. It’s their unwillingness to train. Pure and simple.
I only ever saw one problem with the trades, the end game. An electrician, carpenter, and ironworker told me when I was a teenager the same thing, the 50-63 years were the toughest on them. They wouldn't recommend it unless you had some sort of plan to make your money and transition into something else.
Yup, you only have 30 years to make your lifetime earnings and until the trades pay what they used to it just isn't gonna work. It worked for me but only because I worked hard and invested in homes when the pay was equivalent to $50/hr today
This is basically what I said. It's hard on yhe body! A CPA can do taxes well into their 70s but trade works put their body on the line everyday and eventually it is going to wear out.
You have to be smart with your body and know your limits. in the trades a lot of the older guys pushed their bodies pass their limits on the daily back then because that was the macho environment. until they realized they were destroying their bodies it was too late a lot of older guys will tell me when I'm working it's not even worth going 110% everyday cause eventually the job will always get done one way or another
I am gen Z and when I was in HighSchool the only options my teachers ever told me existed was Collage or to work right out of HS. It wasn't until one day I was talking to my senior counselor and he was asking me about post high school choices and one of the things he said was trade school, so I said i wanted to go to a trade school to fake that I had a post HS plan (I had no idea what a trade school was), than he said what trade I wanted to do, after he said a bunch careers I randomly choose Electrician and he started to look up trade schools with me. around 6 months after I graduated I am currently 4/6 months into the Pipe-fitting trade all coming from a random conversation I had with my counselor because I didn't want to look like I had no direction with my life.
I didn't go to college I did trade school for Plumbing also do pipefitting your right most teachers only mentioned College only a few talked military or Trade school
I was strong and fit after 30 years as a carpenter/builder/remodeler. I got out of construction during the last downturn and went into database design. Sat working in a chair for 10 years. Gained 40 lbs of fat and probably lost 15 lbs of muscles. It's taken me four years of bike riding and working out to get back into reasonable shape. Office jobs take a toll on your body, too. Plus, working outside makes you tough!
word bro, i had a desk job for 17 yrs.. when i started in warehouse before going to framing, i lost 40lbs in 6 months! in my 50s! yes it was hard, body does NOT recover over night so it takes weeks to get any relief, had i not been a Marine in my early yrs i doubt it would have been as "easy".... SFMF
When I worked with my dad painting and around all the other trades laboring away, but seeing many of the homeowners hire someone out for absolutely everything there was to do in their lives, my dad used to say "these people will age more quickly and die faster". There was truth to that. My dad retired in his late 70s VERY healthy and strong. He just turned 80 last year and when he wasn't working he was starting to show his age more and more. His health started declining, etc. Then he got a full time job again (out of pure choice, because he can't not work) and his health has stabilized and he's in amazing shape for 81 yrs old.
Huh, why did you get out of the trades. My guess is that you could make better money and not break your body down like you do I. A manual labor job. Welcome to the reason no young people want to go into manual labor trades if they're smart and or have options.
@@HAL-dm1eh Well I would love to see a study on your exact theory. Because my assumption is that for every person like your dad that made it through a long life in a manual labor career healthy and without some chronic injury there are 10 others that have broken their body down to a level that they have physical issues during their retirement. I could be wrong but im in the trades and I see the trends of today's manual labor issues. Maybe back in your dad's day there was a steady transition and upward movement where enough young people were getting into the trades where tradesmen weren't overwhelmed with work like they are today which creates serious overwork issues, and in manual labor jobs that always leads to injury.
@@duncdunc76 I was in Reno, NV at the time, during the mortgage crisis. Construction went to zero. I had always done databases for my own companies and decided to try that for awhile.
Brilliant!!! As an almost-60 year old, who only just graduated from a 2-year Carpentry Program, I wish I had been introduced to the trades when I was younger ( a lot younger). As discussed, trades were not encouraged as a career path while growing up. I didn't even realize it was an option. At 58, I returned to school to pursue a trade I am currently loving :)
It's satisfying to gain a skill set. At 54, I chucked in a management role to undertake a joinery course - the class includes two in their 40s, a couple of 30 year-olds, 4 x 20 year olds, and the rest 18 Yr olds. It's an awesome group, and we have top notch equipment. Our government has supported this course, which is free, and also gives us a tool kit. :)
I have to say that among workplaces I've regularly been involved with, trades is amongst the most toxic work environments I've been involved with as well as my friends. All of us have tried to get into different fields only to be met with hostility and resistance from people within the industry themselves. Add to that companies who are not willing to offer you apprenticeships and many local companies which essentially cannot guarantee work through the year and you've got an industry that is fundamentally broken at every level within the hiring and retention process.
I was a plumber for a bit, it was hard, but good work, and at the time it paid well, for no experience. I left for greener pastures because I was expected to buy my own tools and do an apprenticeship process that was pointless. I met masters who literally didn't last two days and apprentices who could have done anything. The system is broken.
I was an electrical apprentice 20 years ago, right out of trade school. Journeyman electricians didn’t want to “babysit” as I overheard them talking about us one day. That stung hard and was very discouraging. For an entire year no company would even return a call, forget about looking at a resume of an apprentice. I eventually gave up and moved on.
I got a job as a full electrician for a month to see what I can do, straight outta school so only papers I had were some useless qualifications for working up to 1kV and shit. Day 3 main boss man says 3 people quit so I gotta go work on a Scizor lifter, then 2 days later on a basket lifter. No papers, not training, no harness or even a fucking hard cap I would probably not wear anyway because retarded 19yo. His arguments, they have joysticks like in video games so I'll figure it out. Nearly killed a man because a lamp fell from 6 meters straight onto a working assembly line.
@@8BitNaptime that's the problem. People in a guild type system have an incentive to keep it protected so that labor supply is low and they are in demand. Then they retire, and what happens afterwards is not their concern. They're essentially selling out the future of their industry to get as much money as they can before they get out. That's why all these trades are drying up.
@@bobbyhillthuglife No aquired skill gained under capitalism can protect you from the greed of wall street. Capitalism has destroyed whole trades and industries in the name of cutting the cost of production. You don't see many union plasterers or painters using brushes like my grand father. The capitalist don't need educated workers rather they need workers educated in following their orders.
I believe a big part of this problem is public policy that has stressed STEM education over the past generation. Children are simply expected to pursue science careers and parents subtly warn their kids that if they don't get a computer science degree, they may be punished to a career on a construction site.
Good point, Steve! STEM was lagging in the past, but with the rise of the tech economy, it seems that everyone’s solution is “just learn programming or web development.” Programming especially is needed, but it’s drastically outweighing all other things for young people, and the large tech companies have the capital and sway to promote it even more heavily. A lot of people going through programming training quickly find out how dull it is though! Ironically, some of them rebound to trade education 😂
But it's not just STEM. My son is trying to get into the trades, but he simply can not live in this area on an apprentice's earnings. Add in the lack of health insurance etc. People will move back into the trades when they pay as much as STEM jobs do. And, if economics and a free market are allowed to operate, that's what we should expect to happen over time. In my area, if I call out a tradesman, I know I'm going to be charged at least $100 per hour (which is why I do almost everything myself) but that doesn't go far if they send out 3 people.
I think that's the biggest problem. Stem is probably not just as important as the trades, the isssue is, STEM pays sooo much more than trades do. I think if this massive wage gap in what trades get paid compared to what any tech job gets paid get's closed, you will see more people in trade.
its not that its frowned upon, its that you make significantly less money in the trades. So why would you encourage your children to pursue a demanding job that doesnt pay well
I started welding in the Marine Corps. I love it. I’m good at it. It’s something I want to do. I’ve done it overseas contracting and I’ve done it at home in TX. It’s shocking how hard you have to work for such meager pay. I know how valuable a skill it is and I know how much these companies make just to turn around and lowball your pay while trying to squeeze every penny out of you. Either you have no hrs and can’t make ends meet or you have to find a place with a crazy amount of mandatory OT so you can pay the bills but not have time/energy for anything else. Even in the situations where I’ve been fortunate enough to get around that, it’s the guys above me that don’t want me there, and try to keep me from advancing. It’s very sad. I am VERY good at metalworking. I have SO much experience. A wide breadth of knowledge and I genuinely love working with my hands and creating. The industry just doesn’t love me back and I feel like I’ve just wasted so much time building something that I’m held back from finishing and seems like will never actually benefit me. So, now I’m trying to transition into one of the ‘cyber’ jobs. Full of younger ppl like myself. Laid back culture and plenty of room for ppl like myself that enjoy working hard, coming in and accomplishing something, and doing it again, all while trying to achieve mastery.
@@KRYMauL but a trade union spends money for their Apprenticeship Programs ( 5 year commitment ). Additional money is spent for Journeyman training . The piping industry for example spans from modest home plumbing to the oil Refinery, piping in the micro electronics industry , Bio Pharmaceutical, Nuclear Powerhouse. A worker can never learn it all , but the Union trains it's members to do the work .
J'vari , I love to weld also. Welding is only a tool of a trade , the real skill is being able to work happily with co-workers . When co-workers do not like a person , they will never go out of their way to forward your success.
I just wanted to comment and say I am a skilled trades teacher at a high school in Nova Scotia Canada . I watched this video when you first posted it and it inspired me to make a move on an idea I've had for a few years. I wanted to take skilled trades activities and knowledge about trades to our 2 local elementary schools. I had to pitch my idea to the higher up in the system and they loved it, supported me on it and today I finished my 2nd day with grade 5 students. You inspired me to finally do it and I hope to keep it going and build it bigger. You said it all so well in your video
That’s wonderful! I’m really glad you did it, and REALLY glad your school system supported you. We need to see more of this everywhere. Thank you for taking the initiative! Many of those kids will remember that experience forever, because it will be unlike anything else they’ll experience in the school system. Good job!🙂
People don’t realize how incredibly difficult it is to simply get into the trades. You go and apply at a Union, take the exams, etc… and never get a call back. Many “entry level” jobs low key require you to have many years of experience but it’s hard to get the experience. I’ve been told by many people that you have to know someone to get in the trades or you might just get a lucky break. There’s always outliers in the comments saying “Yeah I simply applied and I got in!” But that’s not the case for most people. So the trades might be dying. …but I feel zero sympathy. The industry seems to be more concerned with keeping people out than letting people in. These same people will turn around and say “Nobody wants to do the trades. We’re a dying breed.” it’s such BS. Unions and companies don’t want to hire anybody unless you get lucky or it’s nepotism.
Yup bingo, I just commented something similar, this is the problem, and pay that hasn’t kept up with the times. Agreed, no sympathy for trade employers. Want workers? Make it easy, attractive, and rewarding to work for you. It’s not rocket science.
As an accountant, I don't even know how I would've got into trades if that was the path I chose. I knew that to become an accountant I needed to go to college and take some accounting and business classes. There were no carpentry classes available there that I saw. I cant be the only one... maybe most people just don't know how to get into it even if they wanted to.
It's not if you don't go Union. I live in Florida and I'm a small business owner residential carpentry. I am begging for help. I would hire anybody with or without experience I don't care if you have tools or not. It's every trade down here it's every small business owner I know. We are swamped with work and there's no help. So down here it's extremely easy. All my buddies that are in the trade business down here we just simply started by somebody telling us a new somebody hiring and we got the job.
You're a massive outlier. I'm in Texas and after working 16 hour shifts with little AC and 30% staff at a max prison for a year, I tried to do something else. The best opportunity In the trades I found was offered nepotistically at 14 an hour, no per diem at a jobsite an hour and 1/2 away as a pipe fitter helper. Tried it for a few months anyway and gas ate all the money I made. To all young men like me STAY AWAY FROM THE TRADES. Only exception is if your uncle or cousin can hand you that 30$ an hour union job.
I was an electrician for over 7 years. I was underpaid the whole way through. Could never get raises & when I went on my own was constantly low balled & had ppl who failed to pay. Left & never looked back ✌🏽
I'm currently a journeymen workman for the ibew and I hate it man underpaid and over worked looking for a way out while I'm still sum what young (30 years old)
@@leroystrokesmen5666 if you hate get out sooner than later, what sounds more interesting to you, money is only a certain amount of importance, if your not happy than not worth it to do it for another 30+ years and finally be able to maybe enjoy your life
@@leroystrokesmen5666 if you don’t mind sharing though what do you not like about it and what’s your pay bc I’m thinking of getting into the trades because nothing else really interest me
Sounds like weak business acumen on your part, there are people who went out on their own and scaled their business to over a million dollars in revenue in less than 5 years in ALL TRADES, it’s not what you do it’s how you do it,
A lot of good tradesmen are bad business men. We undercharge for our work a lot. I undercharge with the hope that customers will advertise my business to my friends smh.
Well, I was a union carpenter out of Local 24 in Yalesville, CT. During the early 2000's the locals started losing contracts and the work was scarce. I looked around at other companies, but the paid gap was too wide. I was making $53/hr as a 4th year apprentice (which included my benefits) in 2004. Today, if I decided to pick up a hammer and give it a go, I may get $18/hr in 2022. That's why there's a shortage of carpenter and tradesmen. You can't live on minimal and expect me to work in the elements. Our government did a disservice to the trade industry stating the jobs were for "losers" and get a job at Starbucks. As you stated in this video, we have to get the younger children involved and offer livable wages for tradesmen.
That's why the fact that national politicians who push the free college for all programs for some reason NOT mentioning that included in the plan is free technical college is stupid. There would be far more support if people were informed that it gave a wider choice of careers.
That seems like overcompensation and the result of unions for sure when $53 an hour at 2004 if only 4 years in. I know no other job industry offering that pay for only 4 years of paid education/experience. This is part of the problem. I work in education and my pay is like $26 an hour today. I had to get a degree for my job. I would gladly take up a trade, pop in some headphones and enjoy a day of health physical labor, that is extremely rewarding compared to sitting around all day doing paperwork. Gate keeping, and keeping younger and new recruits, part timers, gig workers and the like out of the industry is bad for society. It drives up prices and labor, when neaturally it deserves to be a little less (not a lot).
A career where you work crazy long hours but don't have year round work (depending on where you live), often have to do hard physical labor outside with little to no retirement benefits, hostile environment for inexperienced people, an industry that roller coasters from feast to famine constantly, a profession that has little social status, have to take ish from abusive bosses who also want to stick their nose into what you do outside of work with drug testing. I can't imagine how the trade industry is struggling to find new people.
I see you mentioned the drug testing. Yeah it's definitely B.S. I've spent many of the last 20 years staying clean off and on, when looking for jobs...and guess what? I've never even wound up getting a job that required drug testing. So all those years of staying clean were for absolutely nothing. I'm not a hardcore smoker and frequently take 6-12 month breaks due to getting bored with it, but I really hate having to stay clean due to reasons other than my own personal choice. Also I think drug testing is basically a violation of the 4th amendment.
As someone who's been in the trades working on building and restoring houses for the past 30 years I've tried to encourage my kids to try to find a better career because it's hard on your body the pay is bad. I love my job and working on homes but my body is so broken down and i have barely been able to scrape by and i want better for my kids and there future. I didn't go to college for 4 to 10 years but i have been perfecting my skills and learning new ones my whole career. We deserve better.
Im a fellow construction worker and I hear ya. A lot of these people wanna sell the idea that construction is all great but I agree pay sucks working conditions suck and the body takes a beating. Cant blame the younger generation for saying no thanks.
I want to know what country your in. Im a fully qualified caravan repair man. In Australia Run my own sole trade business And make $90 an hour + gst + markup on parts ect
Just another reason for automation of the trades. Imagine doing your job from a computer and watching a machine build a home. It is the best way to bring blue collar into a white collar world
The issue is all the certifications, classes, and licenses that theyre requiring for everything now. Way back when I started welding they said “lets see what you can do” then by the end of the day it was “Good work, youre hired, see you tomorrow.” Now you have to have certificates, prior work experience, your own tools and truck ready to go, and be willing to work for crap wages for the first 6-18 months. Licensing is the biggest Ponzi scheme the crooks in the government ever came up with, next to property and income tax.
@@conradmbugua9098 If you're in the US, the government doesn't license welders. Licenses and certifications are done through private entities who use licenses and certifications to verify professionals have taken standardized training and testing covering a range of subjects. Other employers want you to be licensed/certified to have proper verification that you have received standardized training and testing. If you're talking about nuclear certification and the like, government jobs require you to be nuclear certified through a private institution so they don't have Joe Blow over on the crack corner laying porous stitch welds around the housing for the turbine. And the government requires private certification because there's no law specifying proper qualifications or standards. And I'm not entirely convinced giving that kind of authority to a bunch of rich people who won't be harmed by their decisions and have never welded two pieces together is a good idea. I'd much rather a private institution dependent on handing off reliable, qualified workers making these kinds of decisions. Fuck, I don't even trust many engineers' decisions, to be honest.
And you have to depend upon those you’re going to compete with to get your license. No one is going to vouch for you because they don’t want another competitor. It’s a huge racket.
Yep. I got all the req licenses and still get paid like the guys that dont have any. The state made these requirements and doesn't enforce the companies to follow them. Every yr i take continuing ed classes and pay money to renew my license but im starting to question why bc the employers dont care.
I've been in the trades for 25 years. At 17 when I started building houses a foreman in his mid 40's told me personally that I needed to learn absolutely everything I could about this job because the day is coming when nobody wants to do this anymore. That day is here. After my generation retires in 20-25 years, we're screwed.
It’s not so much that no one wants to do it, it’s more that the current perception is that if you didn’t make it into university you “failed.” This puts a negative connotation on the trades and is tied to the whole “college” vs. “university” debate because “community” college is what every other country calls “college.”
@@KRYMauL I dont think its just that. its also the path into trades isnt that easy if you dont know someone. No one wants to train anyone. No one has any patience.
@@JM-gu7jx This is absolutely true. Honestly, this is less an issue of young people not wanting to do trades, and more an issue of tradesmen not wanting to train others to do their job out of fear that the trainee could be just as competent as they are (given some time) and then they'll personally be out of a job.
@@JM-gu7jx This is a problem everywhere because Boomers would rather die then loose their pensions, in contrast no company offers Millennials pensions. But you know Millennials are lazy and only work for money.
21 year old here. I got into machining as a hobby gunsmith in the last 3ish years. I am completely self taught. I would love to get seriously into the trades but for me personally I look through jobs and they all require minimum 2 years of experience with some even demanding 5 years. Also the fact that you have to buy all your own gear and tools is a huge barrier for entry for many highschool students. Great video just my thoughts.
My problem with the trades right now is that most of my pay would go to maintenance of my equipment, and I wasn't getting paid enough to do that and save. It was a hard choice every week, and not every kid has parents that will help them, which was the only way I was able to even afford to get into metal working and construction.
@@romanengelbrecht6717 If you stick with it. Even when it sucks. When you hate it. Feel under appreciated or under paid. Stay. The. Course. Learn. Be an asset to everyone around you, and I promise when you’re extremely skilled and confident in what you can do, the success comes. The money comes. Just keep going and risk it all
23 year old here. Personally I grew up idolizing my grandfather who was the kind of man who didnt mind getting his hands dirty. From building a shed, fixing pipes, growing your own garden or doing mechanical maintenance, I felt at a younger age that these are things a man should learn. Sadly school didnt provide any classes or lessons for these kinds of things, nor the lack of any great mentors to help us young guys learn.
Don't follow in his footsteps... Society won't respect you, and won't pay you... All they'll do is cheer on burning down your life's work for some criminal who chose to die by the sword, and tell you you're a shit husband and father who deserved to be cheated on for spending all your time at work providing for them and literally building the modern world. I wasted far too much of my life... You don't have to.
The government and corpos don't want us to know these things because it would make us less dependent on them. The blame also in part lies on our fathers for not teaching us.
I retired last year. I was in construction all my life. It wore me out. If you are young and looking for work in that field, who you know is more important than what you know. Lack of skill is the biggest roadblock. I had inside help, it was a family trade. I grew up into it. If you have friends in construction, hit them up and get them to put a word in for you. If it is a big job and they are short handed, it could be your way in.
Buddie of mine was working in Austin in 97. I drove there and rented a room in the front of a dog kennel and worked for free. Never said a word once the contractor let me work for free. We were at lunch on a tile day and the boss found out that there was only 2 tiles tossed from bad cuts. He hired me because 5+ was typical for that amount. $2-30 a tile in the trash adds up quick.
I was a Carpenter for 25 years, much of that time running my own remodeling business. I started pushing a wheelbarrow in Maine and apprenticed with some of the finest furniture Makers, boat builders and carpenters in the country. I became exceeding skilled. Despite a stack of letters of recommendations I always felt chiseled and under appreciated. I honestly felt like folks looks down on people that worked hard despite our skill and work ethic. I found myself increasingly undercut by illegal labor too. So in 2002, 20 years ago I hung up my hammer and started a web based business. My body was abused from all the years of backbreaking labor. I was ready for a change and didn’t look back. When I do occasionally pull out my tools and skills people still think it should be for free. So I rarely do…..
isnt that the truth. had a neighbor move in a few months ago, old lady totally out of her element. city folk moving up to the mountains, completely unaware of living in the wilderness, a bear breaks into her shed. So she phones and asks if i can replace the door. Give her a cheap quote on building a new door at $300. She says, 'i was thinking more like 150...' not a chance am i got to put up with some of these people, especially some whacko who thinks my good graces of helping a neighbor is worthy of me paying to repair their home for them.
Worked as a BMW tech for 4 weeks at two different dealerships. Never met ruder people in my life. I come from a trade focused family too. I went into engineering and am doing alright. I think the trades need a way to flush the low lives out.
That flat rate system is out dated like no one's business but that's what dealership want and get so I left the car business. The pay is low tools are super expensive no wonder the younger generation seek no to be part of it.
As a master hvac and master plumber I’ve given thought to doing my own carpentry because it’s hard to find a decent honest builder. Doesn’t hurt that I enjoy carpentry, it’s a change of pace and gets the brain working.
I get it. I bet you can't stand hiring workers to do a job in your home. I like to do my own work when I can because not all contractors hire skillful careful workers. If you're not on them like a bird dog , they fk the job up at your expense ( ugly quality ).
@@ummmkay1744 I know what you’re saying and yes sometimes there are some guys who are master license holders and really can’t do one or the other. I’ve been doing this for over 16 years. I’ve been on the job learning every aspect of the plumbing and hvac trades that I could under other masters plus taking opportunities to learn when new tech comes out. I’m not perfect by any means but I guarantee quality and demand it from my apprentices and co workers. Some guys take an open book test and pass to get a license where as I’m the guy people seem to call who have worked under me because they can’t trust their direct superiors to answer questions.
@@ummmkay1744 yeah sounds like you’re in a bad area. I was lucky to have a company pay me to learn. From the start it was about earning hours to apply for journeyman test. My first field supervisor was a hard ass about cleanliness and would ream us out of installs weren’t on par. Again I’m not perfect but I can say for sure that I’m better than the hacks you’re basically talking about. Hacks don’t go to training and don’t want to improve their skills let alone their life. Nothing makes me more furious than having to fix someone else’s shoddy work because the investor / home owner decided to go cheap to save a buck.
You mentioned that Home Depot donated money towards the trades. When I worked there for 10 years, one of the things that really went over big one Saturday a month was the Kids' Workshops. The kids would show up with their parents and would build a project each month out of wood. They got to use basic tools and took their projects home at the end of the class. The kids loved it and it spurred a lot of them on to interest in woodworking/carpentry when they got older.
I think a disproportionate number of those kids will become DIY builders. Maybe not building homes but maybe tables, patios and shelving.. It used to be very expensive to get decent tools but that's not really true anymore.
Dude I was just thinking why not Home Depot having a kids section where they sell construction toys, radio controlled toys like the ones you see in the video, even tool belts and kid books where it shows how to build simple structures even popsicle structures and crafts to take home. I know most places do like walmart but who else to have the better quality/same priced version than hardware stores. Would be GREAT.
@@ummmkay1744 literally all the time. Like u said, a box of screws, a sheet of plywood, a hinge, a switch, sure not when building a house but basic renos absolutely
My issue with the trades is the way new people get treated. Grown adults get told they know nothing, they are bad at what they do, and they have to be a slave to learn how to do things without being shown how, and instead heavily criticized and mocked for making even simple mistakes. Most people who go into a trade are already somewhat experienced, and have a fondness or passion for it. Like with carpentry and woodworking, it might run in the family. There is no need to assume that the newbie is some child who can't hold a hammer properly. It is the most infuriating thing to be told how to hold a hammer when you are 27 years old, before you even get the chance to show you know how to. And you can't stand up for yourself. I get the, "oh, so you're a know-it-all now. I don't need to help you with anything, then Right?" And foolishly this would also include heavy lifting that no amount of skill will aid anyone in, but only more strength. "you're so smart, figure out how to lift that pallet of cinderblocks" The people with "experience" are always the most arrogant, unreasonable people when they talk to the newbies. Why would anyone want to experience this? Has new technology been released? Don't even mention it. The way they did it 75 years ago is the only way to do it. His dad showed him, and he has been doing it for 12312312124384873245665 years now. So shut it.
I'm a red seal carpenter and I'm looking to switch jobs. The reason I'm willing to leave the trades behind is the working conditions and the toll it takes on the body. The wages are okay but every other trade makes more than carpenters and people still wonder why the trades but especially carpentry is dying.
I've been trying to understand this issue for decades. The decline in skilled trades seems to me to be across the board. I'm more on the cabinetry side, although my original shopfitting job involved carpentry, joinery, polishing and pretty much a small element of most finishing trades. I learnt later in life that it's not smart to do something because you can, rather more important to specialize in something. This maximises our profitability but makes it difficult to put our hand to other things we can do because there is always someone else specializing in the thing you're diverging into and to be ethical about it it's difficult to charge double the fee that the specialist does. And you really do need to at least double it to allow for the extra time you need if you're tooled up properly for the job. You can ruin your reputation if you charge too much too. This is the mechanism for the modern predicament as best I can tell... Imagine a cabinet maker of old. Everything he does is by hand and passed down through the generations. The drawers are dovetailed and set on wooden slides. Even many hinges are either made by hand or from a basic limited source. Now as yourself how much would you need to manufacture a typical Blum concealed hinge. In a Australia one of those soft close little beauties will set you back maybe $3.00. If on the other hand you were asked to manufacture one of them from scratch my best guess would be that it would cost multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars(possibly millions) to get your production to a point where you make just one. I'm putting it out there that while innovation has in many ways made us collectively much richer it's also hidden where we have become poverty stricken. I mean how many people can afford to pay a professional to innovate? If you think about that for any length of time it begins to keep you up at night. I think free enterprise has kept us from collapsing under the weight of socialist changes to our governance. Sorry to bring politics into it but I think it is part of the equation. I suspect we would all be much richer if government intervention wasn't messing with the goalposts. That needs to be clarified. Here in Australia a friend of mine works for a government agency that looks after problematic people in our society. One of his clients is a mid life woman with a few emotional issues. Her budget for assistance exceeds $300,000.00 per year. Seriously, there's enough money just there to look after 7 or 8 people without them ever needing to work again. This is only the tip of the iceberg with regards to the nature of public spending though. You and I in the private sector are propping this all up. God knows if we can do it for much longer...
@@grantfrith9589 I thought you said, "my original shoplifting job!" I'm like... oh, this guy must be from San Francisco! Glad I re-read what you wrote!
@@atlanteum Yes, you're not the only one to make that mistake. It's a good job but extremely long hours. You get a lot of experience working as many different materials as you can think of. I miss it but it's given me plenty of skills for the experience.
@@grantfrith9589 I've been stuck behind a computer doing animation and VFX forever, but I also removed and installed my own windows when I bought my place, built a trellis-covered deck in the back yard and have a garage full of DeWalt and Rigid tools. Digital is fine for what it is, but nothing beats the hands-on approach -
I honestly think it boils down to two things number one is wages, where I live most first year apprentices make less than they would working at service job or working at a warehouse. And on the other end companies don't want to hire starters. Bids are so tight these day that they don't want to invest in training new people.
I agree on the wages, I make over $60k a year moving boxes in a DC. I'd rather drive truck and equipment or build houses but nothing local pays more than $20/hour. Plus I live 15 mins from my job and only work 4 days, I would not want to give up my 3 days off. If I worked all the available OT I could push it over $75k a year, no local trade job would come close to that unless I was high on the ladder.
At least in my area I think this is one of the biggest barriers to entry. I'm an electrician. In my experience it takes at least 6 months to train a completely green helper up to a skill level that they don't cost you money every day they're on the job (even if they're a go-getter). It's difficult to justify paying a good starting wage when that just means they cost you even more money during the training period. That being said, why would any young person start in my trade (that works out in the elements and usually has a greater chance of injury) for 12 bucks an hour, when they can go to Walmart or McDonald's and start at 15? While there's a greater opportunity in a trade compared to those other jobs, most people aren't that farsighted
How much do you expect to make with zero knowledge? I start my guys at $20 a hour. An apprentice plumber can get their license in 5 years.... if a kid is smart he can be making $100k a year at 23 and get on the job training with no debt. Stop your lies... you're just uninformed or lazy.
I went into a niche trade about 4 months ago. (2nd Trade based job that I have worked)All I can say is that, there are very few good trade based companies out there. Companies that treat the employee/s with respect and good starting pay. Out of all the jobs I had, I was never more disrespected for not knowing this particular field even though I applied for an entry level apprentice to basically LEARN! Until there is more professionalism in the trades, I will tell every young person to avoid them.
Was a carpenter building houses for years. Personally I was getting paid garbage but doing all the exact same work that others were doing. Usually my work was better because I didn't take the shortcuts and just did things right the first time.had all my own equipment and never called out. 3 years of this and I was given a raise! Went from 9/hr to 9.50/hr. I quit the second my boss told me that. For context he was paying the others 17/hr.
that's why I got out after 20+ years, have a nice desk job with better pay, benefits and flexibility. They need to pay way more than they are now or the trades are doomed. I teach my kids the skills but encourage them to look for different employment.
lmao i knew a painter that did this years ago. his boss told him he was getting a raise of a dollar an hour. His Reply: 'first of all, that raise is an insult and secondly....' as he dropped the spraygun on the floor and walked out the front door. 😂
Maybe I can add something to the discussion with my personal experience. I hadn't ever worked a trade until I was in my late 20s, but I was really sick of working in an office and my dad was doing house painting at the time and had more work than he could handle alone, so I helped him out. We worked as painters for this company for about 4 years before they found some people willing to work for $5/hr cash and abruptly fired us. A few years later I got a job working construction as a general laborer and carpentry apprentice. Everyone I encountered was a huge asshole to me and to basically any person who hadn't worked trades their whole lives. Seriously, everyone I met was so bitter and hated everyone. They hated people who made less money than them because they considered them too lazy to work a trade, and they also hated everyone who made more money than them becaise they don't work as hard as us so why should they make so much money. I also thought there would be less politics and bullshit, frankly I was hoping working with other grown men doing mens' work would be less full of bullshit. But these construction workers are honestly the cattiest, most back-biting group of people I've ever met. They are more gossipy and bitchu than a group of high school mean girls. I got promised a raise after probation, then was strung along for a while with no raise until I quit after a little less than a year. I found out that was the company's MO, they just hire new people and tell them there is a raise after probation, then they work them Into the ground and get them to quit. So yeah. I think there are a lot of problems with getting people into trades. It would really help if tradespeople would understand that someone who is new needs to time to learn things, so maybe have some patience and don't treat people who haven't been working trades consistently since age 18 like pieces of shit. Also the complete lack of job security kind of sucks.
Never experienced anything like what you posted in 25 of construction work. If you got "fired" from a single contractor you were 1099 workers that didn't have an actual business but wanted the money right now and not the benefits that come with being an employee. If you lost a single contractor and you had a company you'd just fill the gap working another job. Look in the mirror, you're the guy that went to work with those cattie bitches every day.
The thing is, it may never change. The trades tend to attract people who can't go to college or who hate school. These kinds of people see educated people lauded in society while they perform essential operations, but operations that it is not that difficult to teach people (seriously, these people almost certainly shit on surgeons, engineers, lawyers, etc but have NO IDEA how much more difficult the training for those professions is than theirs). For this reason, they end up with a chip on their shoulders, and take it out on everyone around them. Usually, newbies are the easiest targets. So they haze them, or in some cases outright abuse them. It is often part of the culture they come up in, too. They are the type of dudes who will conflate toxic masculinity (hazing, screaming at each other, being verbally and physically abusive to one another) with regular mascinity (having good control over your emotions, enduring hardship and persisting, being a provider to those you care about), and as such will equate anyone who has a problem with their shitty behavior with being a "cuck" or "soy boy." Until the culture of those who run the trades changes, this will never change.
@@Lupostehgreat hahahahah your physic analysis of all construction workers describes no one I've ever met in 25yr of construction work. No one goes to work to spend their day thinking of surgeons. And I don't think you know the level of training it takes to build a building. Doctors school is about the same amount of schooling as an architect. So if you do outliers to outliers not much difference except construction workers make more at the top than doctors at the top.
@@sparksmcgee6641 no, I am well aware. Just like every fuck with a chip on your shoulder, you condescend to people with more advanced degrees. For people who are always going on about the fucking money you make, you sure all obsess over how "difficult" you find the schooling that y'all go through. I literally don't believe you that these behaviors are not present in the trades and the culture around them; I not only have buddies that work in them, but the sheer weight of all the comments on this thread prove that even though YOU don't think it is present, it very much is. Lastly, an architect is also a fucking college-educated professional, so I have no idea what the comparison is supposed to be there, but unless you are researching architecture and getting a PhD, Architects do not go to school as long as surgeons. On top of that, you apparently don't know how long a surgeon's residency after med school is. This can be anywhere from 3 to 7 years essentially apprenticing under master surgeons. That would be 4 years in undergrad, 4 years in med school, plus 3 to 7 in residency before they take their boards. But as I said, this is all a comparison of college-educated professions to college-educated professions. I KNOW the kind of fucking morons in HVAC school. It's NOT EVERY PERSON THERE, but there are a lot of them. Med School and Grad School standards tend to weed out the fucking morons and lazy assholes pretty fast. But knowing you, you'll tell me those programs are filled with idiots and you know x number of stupid people who are doctors or whatever because one time a Dr told you that your blood pressure was too high or whatever fucking shit. I've seen this 1000x before. Get over yourself.
@@Lupostehgreat No my education time was accurate. I've dated doctors and architects. And your rant making up lies about me as if that has any effect on the world show what kind of person you are. Comments on the internet mean nothing to the real world. I hear a bunch of whiners mostly on comments because they couldn't do the job. Different vetting and only low level small companies have bad culture. As you hear on these comments there is a massive shortage of construction workers so how do all of these hazing companies keep employees when there are 4 other companies on the same job that are all hiring? Your lie about me hating people with whatever education shows what a loser you really are. I have hundreds if not thousands of people I've worked with at the executive level, in a room full of them I make a point to say I'm a high school drop out to remind them of the people they're missing out on in there businesses. Fortune 100 CEO's and a Billionaire with a Family office are normal people for me to interact with. I'm just enjoying the show as people like you whine when you have to pay a punk kid more than you make to fix or build anything. Looking for roofing laborers right now, they can make 80-100k first year as a go getter. if they move to sales in a couple years or a couple months mid six figures is normal. Talking to a 22 year old mother of two right now, 5'6" and 130lb. Shingle pallets are craned onto roofs now so all she has to do is move a bundle at a time. Oh and starting your second year at our company we offer housing benefits. Meaning we will build you a house of your own. Every 24 months you can get $250k tax free from the sale of a house. So with that kind of money what construction worker is staying at any company like the ones haters describe? Everyone in the industry knows, people with addiction issues or mental issues.
I'm not a carpenter but i built a shed last week, my kids wanted to help around and watched me build it almost the whole time. They really are interested by how stuff works and how you can take a pile of lumber and end up with a structure. So i think you're right with the kids being interested in those things.
nearly 100% of skilled trade employers pay the same wage you make at restaurants. why would i work a high stress job that pays the same as dishwashing?
A lot of trade related jobs have TOXIC work environments. Trades imo attract some of the nastiest people around. I worked many jobs where my co workers would literally only talk about drugs, alcohol, racism, degrading women etc. and they are so arrogant and don’t want to teach you anything. This happened to me plenty of times, I’d ask they needed help or ask for work and they’d fly me off and be like “oh go ask someone else” so I’d spend the day cleaning and not learning. It’s so hard to come across decent people and I don’t like all the negative people in the trades.
My youngest son is taking auto shop and construction this year. He wants to learn only for his own interest, not as a career. There definitely is a different culture in the trades to get used to if you didn't come from such a family.
I was going to say, there just isn't a good view on trades these days. They have to work long hours doing jobs that are tough on their bodies for an average salary. I enjoy doing trades work as a hobby. It is not an appealing work environment.
Former tradesman here, dual ticketed - yup, it sucks. Not everyone is like the guy on TH-cam making videos. Working in an office now, it's a good life. I do labour on my own time for jobs that I like doing.
Yep. Lots of abuse to people. Lots of druggies and weird people I’m traded. Unwilling to teach, fights, and overall just miserable people to be around. Glad I got out. I love working and learning on my own time to fix my own shit, all without the toxic setting of the trades.
I think that’s defiant at the heart of it, Erwin. But I think the proliferation of technology plays a large part too. We just don’t focus on as many tangible things as we used to 😕
@@erwinaddison2030 it’s the pay, I can work at fast food, postal companies, or any warehouse job and make the same pay as a fourth year apprentice in my first year, doing way less work
As a youth this hits home. I'm glad my father was handy and taught me himself how to work with wood and tools. Now that I'm older I'm seeing the importance of such skills and now need to buy my own set of tools. This will be the next shortage; tools, and real world applied skills.
I agree with a lot of points you make here, and as a teacher, I constantly push students towards trade jobs. The number on issue they telll me they left was because of bullying, harassment and intimidation. The trade has a culture problem, and until that is addressed, don't expect students to beat down the door.
I'm almost 30 and grew up watching Dirty Jobs with my dad. My dad worked in IT and now I do too. I was always told that I HAD to go to college by my dad and that I didn't have any other choice. So I didn't know any better. Eventually after graduating college I realized I don't like what I do for a living and that I would probably enjoy being an electrician more, which is what my grandpa did. Now being almost 30, and successful and established in my career, but hating what I do, I'm thinking I might make a change in the coming years to work in the trades.
Look at automation and controls. It’s a hybrid of IT and electrical work. It will be much easier to transition into, and it pays very well. See automation engineer, for commercial HVAC or Plant automations.
Don't see why you couldn't dip your toe in working evenings and weekends. If you don't have your license yet I'm sure there are still electrical shops in need of help until you get one, they may even pay for you to train and test. You can shift from part-time to full-time to open your own business. The REALITY RENOVISION channel has been talking up how even handyman side-hustles are in-demand markets right now prime for opportunity.
@@mustangmatt1987 Same, I like my IT career but like doing handiwork & working on my cars more. Started doing odd jobs and IT work on the side a few years ago for myself. I later inherited a house flipping businessfrom my dad and would love to make that be my full time thing, but for now IT pays the bills and is putting a bunch of kids through college. ;)
I used to work in the trades after high school and recently started college. There's a couple reasons why young people don't enter or stay in the trades. One is either douche bag foreman and journeymen that disrespect their apprentices and often mistreat them. Usually their excuse is to "toughen them up". The young tradesmen rather choose to leave than to stay in a toxic work environment with coworkers that constantly disrespect them. Another reason is not having connections. Getting into the trades has become of who you know and not what you know. You can be an eager kid willing to learn a skill but it's not easy getting in unless you know someone already that's in the trades. I've always wanted to do both construction and engineering which is why I started college.
most welding jobs pay 18 an hour. that is the offer im handed, unless is 15 an hour. panda express hired me to wash dishes for 18 an hour. the bottom line is money. if i can make that same amount with less work why wouldnt i. how pathetic is it that kitchen work pays the same as skilled trade.
@@selfactualizer2099 true but the thing is as a starting welder your pay will grow as you get more experience, plus it's badass. Can't say the same for being a cook in fast food.
instead of saying young people don't enter trades because of a "toxic work environment" just say you're a bitch. These environments make a man out of you and that's the truth. After a while you realize that they aren't toxic they are just preparing you for life. Shit talking and harassing isn't toxic it makes males bond and allows us to be brutally honest with each other so we don't get our fuckin panties in a bunch over dumbass shit. Speaking of panties' in a bunch yours are probably gonna be all fucked up because i called you a bitch. Get over it. bitch.
@@selfactualizer2099 Not true at all unless you are near a shipyard. The south has welders starting from 12-15 i don’t know why people act like all of the US is the same or these listings can’t be seen in seconds. Generally you start around $12-16 which is a lot for the south with the sell being unlimited mandatory overtime. People getting out of school instantly making $18 or 6 figures is by no mens common or a guarantee. Who you know is more important than anything and we need to stop lying to young adults as if hard work trumps networking, it does not. As a caveat my numbers are pre-pandemic . None of the seasoned welders in shops i worked in made that much outside of a shipyard without experience nor connections.
@@edward1937 after 3 or 5 years in most jobs you get to around 27$ an hour (average) And it's still not worth it. Again, I can get much more money in that same amount of time getting a better job. Fact is I actually went to college for welding, my welds are extremely consistent. The pay for welders has even stagnate for almost a couple decades. I'm not joking, this average pay has not changed in years to reflect inflation. Welders are actually worth MUCH more than that, especially if you manufacture parts. I was making frames for Kubota welders, each one selling for 14k. I had to make 8 a day. Did my pay reflect that? (Even accounting for the cost of materials, quality control, and shipping, all of the people involved were making chump change for those parts. And I was the one actually putting them together. Following very complicated blueprints. This is the same rhyme at all the other jobs. Sure welding is fun, Until you realize you're a number. Expected to meet max quotas no matter what. In georgia you'll actually be threatened to be fired if you don't work overtime. (Right to fire state) And again, the pay should have scaled over the years, but it hasn't changed in a long long time. I actually knew my boss personally, I mean the guy who was running the warehouse, from corporate, way above the manager, Dude was making a metric ton of money off of us, his role was to just keep an eye on operations. Everything you've said was "well its just enough money to live, and welding is fun!" Listen boy I got a family to worry about. Trade work is ran by boomers who don't want to pay a modern wage. I'm furthering my education in a more freelance direction (actually, I'm studying to be a fitness trainer and nutritionist) Because I'm smart enough to know I better be paid what I'm worth. Now all these welding jobs and all these warehouses have nearly identical complaints. "We need young guys to replace the soon to be retired guys" "Young guys no matter how good of a welder you are you'll get paid the bare minimum because you are not old" "Young guys keep leaving to get other jobs" Rinse and repeat. The same complaints from all these welding jobs. If you can't see the issue, be my guest, continue working a SKILLED trade for restaurant wages like an absolute wimp.
I truly believe that early exposure to the trades is paramount to changing the perception of trade workers. My father was a contractor, so in many ways I had a tremendous advantage in learning the trade at a very early age. Plus I showed a lot of interest in building things at a very young age. At 7 or 8 yrs old. I remember going to work with my dad on a saturday morning. I'd haul 2x4s, he would make me hold the other end of the chalk line on the mark so he could snap the lines on the floor. He showed me how to read blueprints. I took all that for granted as I got older. And although I always wanted to be a builder, my parents discouraged me from doing it, and sent me away to college. I got an engineering degree.. But, I always worked with my father summers and weekends. I worked in the engineering field for a few years out of college but I really didn't like it much. I ended up starting my own business at the age of 24, building and remodeling. I already knew the trade from years of working with my dad. I've been doing it ever since. I'm a 58 year old career carpenter, looking at retiring sooner than later. I made great money when I started in this career in the mid eighties. The pay has remained relatively stagnant for decades. You'd think that the shortage would increase wages but that sadly is not the case. This is a tough business that requires a tough constitution to do day in and day out. I no longer frame houses, although I have all the skills required to do it very well...my body can't do it anymore. There are no replacements for guys like me that are ready to retire. I've seen many people in the comments here complaining about the rough and tough nature of the carpenters ,"towards a beginner". I did experience a little of that in my early years. But I think what "the beginners" don't understand is that a willingness to work is what is required and respected in this trade. Learning comes after the work ethic is established. They all want to be black belts before they learn how to haul the wood and clean the job site. I've never shied away from doing the laborers job, but whose gonna lead the crew and doing the planning and laying out if I'm doing the labor job. If someone wants to enter the trade, they have to understand that it is work, and a lot of times it's very hard work. I'll show someone that's willing to learn, but a lot of this requires a basic understanding of math, geometry and manual dexterity. Unfortunately, these simple things seem to be missing in our education system these days. I don't want to discourage anyone from doing it, but if you're afraid of hard work, you aint gonna make it. I can tell you that you'll never ever need a gym membership, or have to go on a diet if you work this trade. I'm 58 yrs old and I have the body of a 30 yr old , but I got some hard mileage on that baby.
I'm doing what equates to around $300 a day doing sub contractor work in the graphics/exhibition trade , building stands installing prints and vinyls etc all at age 22 off of the back of going through severely life threatening cancer and living with permanent nerve damage and fibromyalgia as the result of chemotherapy, I had done two years and graduated fully as a site carpenter before doing this, can the attitude towards beignners stink, absolutely but I whole heartedly agree the issue in alot of cases is that people my age fail at this and get shit from more experienced tradesmen is an ineptitude to learn, arrogance and self entitlement, it is real hard work, I had gone gym years prior but it's a different kind of strength, I had done snowboarding recently for the first time with my girlfriend and other very fit people and after 7.5 hours I had little to no fatigue meanwhile their legs and hips were in pieces, this really does build up muscular endurance and tests you mentally severely. I've been in my position for only just over a year now and I've already done plenty of 100+ hour weeks and yet I always hear people my age complaining about being overworked doing 50 hours at a desk job, trades truth be told are dying because young people are being pigeon holded into academia and simply lack the work ethic due to being pan handled too much so of course older people get frustrated with this ESPECIALLY when they're being arrogant le jumping ahead. To all young people, the money is waiting for you, the trades are simply waiting for your hard work. It's rewarding and will make you a better person. That's my rant anyway, wish all of you a great day/life, love from the UK ❤️🇬🇧
@@jacobg7966 And then they get out of college with $300,000 in college loans, and get a $40,000/yr job. Makes perfect sense to me. No, I think that work ethic is what's lacking. Kids haven't been taught the value of working for what they want and need. Instead, mom and dad, give them whatever they want without even asking them to do chores around the house for an allowance. Not all households are like that, but most are, particularly in urban/suburban households. When I grew up, kids needed to get a job out of high school or go to college. Now, most just stay home and mooch off of their parents. It's the parents fault. I hate to speak in generalizations, but this is what I see going on.
@@marcellemay7721 That's more or less how it goes, and people my age are so hyper focussed on this idea of having higher thought or morality despite having no skin in the game they haven't paid tax or really contributed to anything other than their Twitter wall, I don't even use social media anymore at all, just TH-cam and WhatsApp but young people and their entrepreneurial obsessions and politics is a whole nother discussion. The UK specifically I can't speak for America, there is a tremendous exhaustive labor vacuum, there's schemes now to go through the education system straight into a firm to work I remember on their open days legit no a single person was interested but me, my first year I had 17 classmates by my second year there was 6 of us, 5 passed trade school out of 17 and now only me and one other works in a trade , even with those offers available being offered £50,000 starting salaries and being paid to go to college rather than the opposite they won't do it because it's "beneath them" or too hard. it's unfortunateley an old people's game, I did farmborough airshow this year in the summer and I was the youngest person at 22 out of maybe 5000 men, and my dad who got on that job with me joked that he felt young, apparently the labor demand was so harsh they had to pull alot of people in who was retired and it showed. So much experience but their bodies were just so clearly past the point of obeying, they have so much to teach and pass on and learn and yet no one my age is willing. You can easily get in at £27.50 an hour here right now, straight out of school and the hours are there as many as you can handle, I'm 22 and in my best month I made just over 10,000 doing 100+ hours a week working in Hanover Germany and Paris France and all over London to all that are listening please come to trades, listen and learn and work hard use your hands had common sense be open minded . Some people will be a cunt without any precept too and no one agrees with that, whenever someone's being harsh on you it is usually and should ever only be for your own good. Stay humble, there's always something to learn and as long as you do that it'll be hard but you'll pull through and it's an amazing rewarding career that can take you around the world and teach you so many tricks and really push you to build things you didn't think capable , and be part of what keeps the world going. Your mental health will thank you, if you're burned out give a trade a go , if you have a relativel or friend who does site work, ask if there's ever an opportunity to tag along as a labourer for the day , just help out see how it works, or do a workshop or a taster at a school, there are assholes everywhere for the most part in trades there's alot of love between the banta. Without the work force the world will truly fall. Exhibitions, Carpentry, Civil Engineering , painter and decorator it doesn't matter we are all a team on the building site ❤️🇬🇧
I worked as an instructor for the local "trade" school (it is actually a community college) that had a partnership with the public high schools. We taught building and construction and wood working to high school students since there were no other teachers that were qualified to so. As you mentioned in the video, wood shop classes in public schools have all but disappeared. When we started at that school, the shop was used as a storage room for broken golf carts and riding mowers. All of the tools were neglected and were either already broken or not safe to use. After a year of cleaning and purchasing new tools/equipment, the shop looked like a shop. In the beginning, student interest was low - only 4 classes with an average of 15 students each. Within 2 years, that all changed. Classes were at capacity, with all 6 classes @ 28 students each. We actually needed to turn away students for safety concerns. Unfortunately, because only a small number them matriculated to the college (at least for carpentry) the partnership was dissolved as the college pulled the funding. 18 of us, instructors and faculty lost our jobs. I thought it was a good program and we definitely filled a gap in the schools offerings, but as with most things, it all came down to money. It was my most fulfilling job I've ever had.
As someone who went through a trade school, it was difficult to find anyone who would hire me without treating me like I was in demolition instead of a electrician and the hazing is ridiculous. Everyone is miserable and bring their personal problems to work. Surround by alcoholics and drug abusers. It blows because I did enjoy the work just not the environment. Maybe I’ll try again someday.
Probably one of your best videos to date. As a water plant operator for several towns and villages (as well as a woodwork hobbyist), I’ve noticed the trades are truly dying. Just spoke to my 12 y/o about the trades and how it may be more beneficial to pick one up for his future. I know looking for a valued worker in my profession is hard to find, and I’ve benefited in my joy for woodworking to make some serious extra cash. So much that I was planning on leaving my cushy job to dive into my passion. As I’ve said, finding skilled laborers is difficult and my job has pretty much bent over backwards to keep me on. So I tell anyone out there that as long as you know a trade and hustle, you can pretty much make as much money as you are willing to devote your time to. Keep up the great videos and applaud you on a great subject.
Absolutely. 16 year Commercial Electrician and I’m now told to follow the (3D) “model” on the iPad for install. Who made the model? “The CAD dept.” Are they Electricians? “No.” Then why are they designing electrical systems? “That’s the spec pre-fab is made to fit.” Wait, I’M supposed to be doing this, not some CAD-F*#K in an office! That’s why everything is f’d up, twice a hard to work on as it should be and has too many bends in it. “It’s all figured out.” Obviously it’s not. Maybe CAD should come out here and show me how this is done. “That’s what you’re for.” Then don’t f’n tell me how to do my job. Then they wonder why we’re over on hours and cost 🤦🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
This year I am teaching a class called Exploration of Skilled Trades. It is a required class for all of our 8th graders. I am so excited about this class! We have so many kids who do not see college as an option for them. I'm really hoping this will help lead a bunch of kids into a skilled trades job! I'll be showing this video to them tomorrow.
This was a great video! I’m a retired journeyman toolmaker/machine tool builder and it’s a shame what’s happening in our country with the trades. I always made an above average living and never had any student debt. It always boggles my mind that somehow working with your hands is demeaning. You also have to use a lot of brain power to build things and to repair those things when they break. The trades have job security. You can’t outsource getting your home built, getting your car fixed, have you HVAC system installed or repaired. I wish you the best in this endeavor!!
im on your side but the DIY mini splits, the ones that can be installed yourself, are a lot better than something vented installed by a pro, and a mere fraction of the price
I spent my whole youth from unskilled job to unskilled job. I'm now 40 and an apprentice in the construction industry, and even as an apprentice it's the most fulfilling job I've ever had. Doing stuff with your hands, standing in front of something you have finished, knowing that someone is going to enjoy your work for years to come is a fantastic way to give meaning to your life.
I'm 26 and disagree. I've been welding since I was 19. I gave up my social life for a worthless check, zero respect, and it's going to shave years if not decades from my life. If you're in the trades, run. It isn't worth it
@@LordBaktor Maybe it is. I'm glad you've found peace in your work. I'm glad you enjoy your trade. That's what matters you. But as for myself, I'm looking for a future. And burger king pays almost as much as an entry level welding position. Good luck to you, I wish you the best my friend. As for me, fast food is looking better and better by the day, all for only a few dollars less than what I make now
One of your best videos to date. Carpentry is definitely in bad shape, and more so than the other trades. Unfortunately, a lot of the fault lies with carpenters and the trade itself, especially when it comes to framing. Over the years I have learned that some fields eat their young, while others coddle and nurture theirs. This is true for both the trades and white collar professions. The same is true in healthcare where I now work. Sadly, it has been my experience that carpenters can often fall into the former category. I once worked on a crew for a framing subcontractor for John Weiland Homes, one of the biggest home builders in the Atlanta area. The subcontractor's company nickname was The Machine, because his crews were the fastest hands down in the entire Atlanta area. We once framed a large house in one subdivision in 4 days while another company was framing one in the same subdivision. We left and framed a house in another subdivision. When we came back to the first subdivision they were still working on that first house. When we got done with our third one and left they were still there. However, to be that fast and efficient was the result of some brutal working conditions. The owner's foremen were tyrannical bullies. Everything was yelled, nothing asked. Everything was expected to be known, nothing taught. Half the people on that crew when I got there were gone by the time I left (Yes, people. We had a woman on that crew). They either quit or got fired regularly. The turnover was horrendous. I saw new guys quit before lunchtime on day 1. I once saw a foreman grab a guy's tape to measure something without asking. When the guy objected - in a rather undiplomatic way to be honest - he was fired on the spot. Rough stuff. Aside from the work atmosphere the conditions are harder. Carpenters lift laminated beams into place by hand. They carry trusses across tall walls walking on 2x4 top plates, which is like carrying an unbalanced heavy load across a tightrope with no net. Carpenters work with no shade in the summer, and shovel snow off the site before they can work in the winter. Carpenters lose workdays to rain and/or have to work weekends to make them up. Trades that work once the building is dried in don't have to do these things. Carpenters are often treated as self employed, and get no benefits. They get a paycheck and that's it. No 401K, no insurance, no vacation days. Plus they are responsible for 100% of their own income and FICA taxes. I know other construction trades can have it rough. Electricians, plumbers, and HVAC for example have to crawl around in hot or cold tight spaces or slither through wet slime. Often times cussing the framers who left them no space to install and work in. 😉 But, most of them are trained in a real school. Most work for companies that apprentice them, advance them, and give them benefits. Most importantly they all make more than carpenters. Yeah, I know there are highly skilled master carpenters and trim carpenters who make some good money within their niche, but that's not true for the average framer. The truth of the matter is that on the construction trade totem pole carpenters along with roofers and drywallers are at the bottom. In carpentry there's usually only one guy on the job site making any real money. The boss. It's kind of ironic really. Because if there are no carpenters no one else works.
MagiusUSA. You speak the truth man! And so many others in these comments are echoing the same thoughts. Bottom line, manual labor jobs don't pay enough, break your body down, often require more capital investment to be successful (example reliable work vehicle that can haul, tools, hard work clothing reinvestment), require dealing with the elements, and often have a hard work environment in general. So I sort of don't understand why The Honest Carpenter doesn't understand why no one wants to go into the trades today. And the statistic that the younger generations don't have anything against manual labor isn't the whole picture. It's not just manual labor. It's manual labor on a scale that often breaks your body down and doesn't have any sympathy for not getting the job done due to difficult conditions. It ain't no office job lol!
Same experiences. Facilities maintenance, i guess it is not considered a trade to many but i really enjoyed keeping Schools functioning at top efficiency and constant cross training kept it interesting. Many friends in various trades and they have same complaints you mention. The culture of near complete ignorance in anything other than the work was depressing and sexism and racism where a constant. I wouldn't let the vast majority of these people near my daughter let alone in my house knowing what they are really like. I have nothing but respect for the skills but nothing but contempt for the "culture". It is NOT a political thing it is a freaking being a decent human being thing.
@@peterjefferson3963 Well I don't disagree that there is some less then desirable culture in many trades environments. However when I've dealt with it I've basically just done my best to promote changing the culture. Of course in order to do that you have to have the respect of the older generations. And imo the best way to get that is with your work ethic. But alas there will be generational differences that can't be overcome. Older generations were brought up differently and when your in their world so to speak you kinda got to adapt until you've got the influence and your generation is controlling things and then you can shape the working environment to suit your generations idea of what the work place environment should be. Not saying it's easy but interacting with people in the work place is part of life and the better you are at adapting and your ability to deal with people's differences the farther you'll go in the working world no matter what job or career you are in.
@@duncdunc76 well I'm not a kid I'm walking on 50 and I've been at this for a long time I have the work ethic of twice the average person it has nothing to do with my skills and getting along with other people. I'm known for bridging gaps and bringing people together and leading successful teams. I find many people of the older generation to be quite disingenuousness and duplicitous you try to meet them halfway but then they move the goal post I don't know man it just seems endemic to American culture my friends in Germany, poland and friends from Chile are not like that. That's what my 30 years of experience in the midwest has taught me.
@@peterjefferson3963 Well I'm certianly not going to disagree with the notion that the American culture of today has got a lot of looking out for #1 at the expense of so many others. The greed is rampant in so much of business today. And I'll agree that a large portion of it is coming from the older generations of business owners that just continue to exploit their work forces to no end. I know all to well what it's like to be a team player and be taken advantage of by the ones in the industry that are Greedy and Shady. After a good 25 years of work experience under my belt I've finally figured out how to work for myself and provide a fair deal in all my business dealings. And if I happen to deal with someone that doesn't operate on those parameters I just don't do business with them again. I'll admit though, you will not become wealthy living that way in todays business world imo. Seems like the wealthy today are mostly about the exploitation of workers and customers. If that's what it takes to become wealthy then I'll just continue to live my modest life. As I'm certianly not going to exploit others to gain wealth.
The problem is nobody wants to work 50-60 a week for 12-13$ in modern era economy. The pay is shitty, the requirements are brutal and by the time you retire (if you even can retire with that amount of money, most likely you're gonna feint and die on the site lol) you won't probably be able to even walk bcs your whole body is gonna be fucked bcs of all the hard labor you did for 30+ years.
I tried to get into construction and was pushed out of my first gig because I wasn’t willing to subject myself to the hazing from my former or co-workers and foreman. That whole experience was a nightmare. I went to a really bad place mentally for a long time after that. I thought I would never find something I was good at or could earn a decent living. Then I decided to go back to school for IT. The terrible experience I had in construction convinced me to try my hand and something I always wanted to do. Now I have a great job working in Technology that pays better than that crappy construction gig. Thank’s construction for convincing me to do something better with my life!
My issue with construction and specifically rough carpentry is that I didn't have a solid mentor. I could pick things up here and there from a few different people but mostly had to piece it together myself. And there were a few guys that get a kick out of putting others down. They won't teach you anything because they are just rotten individuals that unfortunately you have to deal with at every company in my experience.
Thats what its like being a greenhorn. Obviously you didn't have the hide for it. The industry is prob better off. All tradesmen get the greenhorn hazing, as did I.
The simple solution is the construction industry needs to pay more, working out in the elements whether it be the cold of winter or the heat in the summer gets pretty rough and in a lot of areas contractors pay less than grocery stores and fast food restaurants. I try to show my son as much as I can about the trades and yes this guy makes the point that we need to make them appear more appealing to the youth…
@@bobbyhillthuglife All the contractors use the excuse oh well Burger King won’t give you 40 hours a week when they will… I know what I’m worth so all these contractors say oh will start you at $16 an hour and move you up from there basically means you’ll work a year and maybe make it to 18. I had this guy I was working for last year only because he was local and I have a 1 year old son and then he started wanting me to travel three hours there and three hours back from a job site without pay and I said the hell with this and got hired by a place that was four hours away and they paid for my trip,hotel and paid me Perdiem etc. The sad thing was is the contractor Who wanted me to travel six hours a day without pay had guys that were willing to do it, and have been with him for years. I showed him the labor laws which say any travel that’s part of an employees duty outside of their commute they must be compensated for.
Excellent. Anything that encourages young people to develop practical skills is essential these days. My wife and I train students who want to become physicians and it is shocking how weak most of them are at organizing the space immediately in front of them. Wood and metal shop should be mandatory for everyone in high school, not only as a way to attract people to the trades, but also to make potential physicians, scientists, engineers, etc. connect their heads to their hands.
Great point, Peter! I think physical applications confuse or frustrate a lot of kids these days. Basic shop classes could go a long way towards getting them started on tangible problem solving. 👍
I see a lot of this in my day to day. I work in an office during the day but I go to night school for welding in ohio and the lacking of welders has gotten so bad that at least 4 companies have covered our tuition to insentivise us to continue with the program. You know when privates are stepping in to flip the bill that things are getting bad.
37 years ago I moved to Southern California looking for work. I wanted to get into construction but they only hired people who had a car, which I didn't have and was far from being able to afford. I was used to hard work and long hours but they wouldn't even give me a shot. I ended up taking an unskilled factory job, starting along the college route, and eventually earning a science PhD. from a top university. I'd have rather learned a trade but they wouldn't give me a chance.
This has been my experience as well. Applied to several unions that never got back to me or job sites would tell me they didn’t need anybody or I needed like 1k-2k minimum in pro equipment for them to want to give me a shot. Other jobs had just gave me a shot tbh
the trades in kali are horribly run with an IRON FIST by the unions, here in my Country, you DONT need to know someone, DONT need to be "allowed" to test, aaannd so on.
Having a vehicle in the trades is critical, I've yet to see one that didn't ask if you had one. Job locations change all the time, public transportation isn't going to get you close to many or most of them if it even exists in the area you work. For years I'd leave my house by 5:30 to get to job sites, quite often living out of cheap hotels. A vehicle that's reliable and can carry the required tools is a absolute must in the trades. Can't blame them for not hiring you because you had no way of getting to the jobs. That makes you a unreliable employ. Even if you get lucky and have a coworker living close that can give you a ride, what happens when you're on different jobs fifty miles apart? You're not going to work and the company has to find another person to fill your spot meaning the no longer need you.
@@clyd3fr0g he didn't prove his point. He didn't have a vehicle which means he didn't have a way to get to work. That's got nothing to do with the trades, that's almost every job I've had, they ask if you have reliable transportation. It's on him not them in this case.
I was a software programming student for two years and almost finished my associates. I switched over to welding which I dont regret. Sitting at a desk looking at a computer the whole day is too painful for me. Plus there are way too many students to compete with for jobs in IT when companys like Microsoft also bring in people from out of country. I live around the Seattle Area.
I was a software developer for 7 years. Made great money but was miserable. I am about to get my plumbing license and love going to work everyday and look forward to opening my own shop down the road.
WTF are you doing, prole? Trying to find a fulfilling career? Fuck that and fuck you for trying it! I, Mr.BillionaireAssholeFace, will make either a bot or a poor foreigner do that job twice as efficiently for a fraction of the cost. Now, get back in your BeepBoop Cage and compete with the other Cageys in making _me_ more money or else your ass is out on the street with nothing!
40 years in the trade and I agree with what you are saying. There is more than the difficulty of getting proper training to access the trades their is a demographic issue with over 600,000 more people retiring than youths entering the work force. If there is a labor shortage and young workers are able to (more easily) pick their career, why would they pick a lower wage, with no job security, poor benefits, and dangerous.
after high school, I went to trade school for electrical and when I got out all the companies wanted to pay minimum wage or close to it. It's hard to live off of minimum wage, let alone start buying tools and pay off your student loans making that much
Hey Ethan. As someone who loved wood and metal shop in high school, but failed to find a career in the trades, I have experience with this topic. One topic I think should be discussed, but is just as complicated to solve as others you've mentioned here, is the culture in these industries. As a 17-19-year-old male, I was incredibly disheartened at how cold, rude, and downright aggressive most of the other men were, in my experience. I can understand the challenge of bringing on young employees and having expectations unmet, but there's no good excuse for poor communication skills from managers, foremen, and what should be mentors. Additionally, and maybe related, in the several years I spent in the trades and mostly since, I see few women in the trades. This is despite knowing how interested some are in building, fixing, and designing. I chose to pursue business and technology as my profession and experienced far fewer of these two issues. I hope you can address these topics in future videos and/or publications if you find them relevant. Thank you, and keep up the fantastic work.
As a teenager I worked as a Carpenter with my Father. Well apprentice lets say. I truly loved the job and thought I had found my thing. Our primary focus was Finish work and, more than anything, I found that building stairs and then making them look as perfect as possible clicked with me on some deep level. So, I was really all set to become a carpenter and had a plan for Trade School, then a job with local contractors, eventually I'd start my own company with a focus on residential and commercial trim/finish work. Somewhere along the way I found that I really loved science too. Trade School became College and then Grad School. I traded local contractors for Bio-Tech startups and university labs. I became a staff scientist instead of a contractor. I am proud of the work I have done as a scientist and the future scientists I have trained and mentored. But.....Over the years I have fixed and made things, always knowing that doing that fulfilled me in a way that science never has. We bought a house and now I have projects and a shop and plans to remodel and maybe even add on. And the thing is, I find more peace and more fulfillment doing all of that stuff than I have ever found as a scientist. Sure, it is amazing to be the first to know something, see something, prove something. But, framing a wall or hanging a door or building a tool box is better somehow and I am left wondering, "Did I make the wrong choice?" Sure, my knees think science was the way to go but if I could talk to the me of 20 years ago I think I'd tell him that Carpentry was the way to go. Also, dump all the money you can into Apple, Amazon, and when it first pops up this thing called BitCoin but sale when it hits about 50K.
I worked as a carpenter for the lions share of my life and worked at a scaffolding company for a while in my early twenties. I remember working with a guy named Jim who was maybe twenty years my senior and had a great sense of humor but wished he had chosen another line of work. Jim and I were erecting scaffolding for a large building when a young boy on the sidewalk below asked Jim how he got way up there? Jim's response: "I made a big mistake!"
I worked a trade for about 25 years now. A big part of why I liked my trade for so long as it was kind of unregulated. I got my certification a long time ago and time and experience gradually lifted me to where I am. Being an older and experienced guy this doesn't affect me much, but I see the next generation as being over regulated and required to jump though so many more hoops that it just drives a lot of them away. A huge part of trades while I was coming up is it was mostly people that couldn't do the college thing. Either because of the money or because high education just isn't something that fits with them well. But now most of these kids have to go to trade schools to even get hired. Then they have to jump though 100 different training programs to get certified. Then they have to jump though those hoops annually to remain certified. It has become over regulated and over saturated with what I call education vultures looking to score bucks from companies to pass along pieces of paper that say what they already knew, Mike can use a wrench. Mike can turn on the compressor. Mike understands how to walk up and down the stairs.
I agree .. I was a certified master plumber in Texas for several years and had to be "re-certified" every year. It was a ridiculous money making scam. I no longer live in Texas but I believe that they finally ended that requirement.
YES!!... I've been in the plumbing trade for 45 years, since the age of 16, over regulation is a thing, useless pieces of paper from people with useless "college degrees" finding work for themselves.
My Granddaughter made me proud, she was an excellent student, went to 1 year of college and decided it wasn't for her. She starts welding classes in 3 weeks.
I have been an apartment dweller most of my life and recently, I acquired a 100 year house and I've found it quite overwhelming. However, with lots of time and youtube support I've found myself able to tackle plumbing, electrical, carpentry, concrete, and a bit of hvac at a supplementary level. Is everything up to code on the work I've done and at the professional level? Probably not. Would I have been able to do any of this without the transparency of youtube professionals in the field? Absolutely not. Not only is the amount of money to hire people house not financially feasible for many, the job itself is not feasible without the information. It is quite possible that with this new age, that in order to maintain these houses, each home owner will have to become an everyman as trades dry up. If the trades do dry up, transparency of information, both in accessibility, clarity, and honesty may be one of the few things that will hold the world together.
The path for me to become a appreciate lineman was extremely expensive and difficult... and the union consistently kicks people out for failing class work, etc... good hard working guys removed from the IBEW apprenticeship because they fail a exam once. It's a joke and I'm seriously considering getting out, I'm so tired of the stress and gatekeepers that exist within my trade.
Screw IBEW (which stands for I Barely Even Work). There’s more available jobs in non-lineman electrical work and you don’t have the crazy heights to contend with. The union does that on purpose, keeping their numbers slim, to justify their high pay.
I try to tell as many young men as I can to consider trades, more companies should offer benefits and consider a higher hourly pay. Hard to get apprentices or even drive interest when they can make the same amount stocking shelves. Doesn’t help the economy is in the dumps.
I agree you can thank Joe Biden and the Democrats for the inflation and high gas prices. All this happening on THEIR watch. Remember this when you vote people.
I only try to tell young guys to join if it's union (worker). If it's not don't even consider it. I myself went non union and regretted it when I found out that my friends who were in their trade with the same experience as me had benefits, a pension, and about $20 more an hour than me. Never go non union if you want to become a worker. If you want to sub contract than non union is good but you will probably not be able to pay your workers a good wage or offer anything you yourself would want.
The government should provide benefits. Business should pay better. That said, we have enough homes. We just have too many people owning an excess of property
Thanks for pointing out this important issue. One critical change that's occurred over recent decades is the diminishing support for unions in this country. This is also a perception problem, mainly driven by political interests.
I worked the building trades and kitchens for 20 years, and all I ever got out of it was bad knees, callouses, and extreme poverty. When it costs tens or even hundreds of thousands in tools, licensing, insurance, and truck payments just to become a contractor, and when contractors are paying sub contractors substandard wages, how and why would anyone enter the industry? The entire US labor industry is broken, and has been for as long as I've been working.
@@seanhiscock so true.. at my workplace with no formal training, I'm finding the bugs in CNC programs that my engineer came up with. Hands on is something they'll rarely do.
When I graduated in 2006 I had no idea what the “trades” were. If I would have had a mentor of some sort teach me about carpentry or electrical work my career would have been very different. My office job today provide very well for my family, but I feel alive when I work with my hands in my off time.
As a 22 year old carpenter it’s weird how few workers there are my age and I believe trades work is some of the most important jobs hope to see more people my age!
Facts I currently work as an electrician but I'm switching to trucking because there's so few coworkers who get how I talk. Also the micro management from the 60 year old journeyman is actively holding back my productive capacity just to milk hours. There needs to be a fundamental change in how the licensing process works.
I am a residential HVAC Technician. The biggest issue I found, at least for my area, is that no one wants to pay for your skills. How are new guys, who are not teenagers living at home, supposed to just accept multiple years of low to mediocre wages, drop thousands of dollars on tools and night classes, AND provide for their family? The short version of my experience was dropping 7k my first year between classes and tools, making mediocre to low wages for the first two years despite working my heart out off the clock to learn, being stabbed in the back by my first boss for respectfully informing him I would be looking elsewhere despite staying almost two months after to help him through a rough time in his company before I left, and being lowballed by every HVAC company I applied at. I ended up pivoting into apartment maintenance because they paid a lot more for HVAC skills compared to actual HVAC companies. I love HVAC but I am having a hard time with the HVAC companies. I am just feeling discouraged, and I know I am not alone on this. Something needs to change, or these issues we see in the industry are only the tip of the iceberg.
I'm also seeking contacts at the HOME DEPOT FOUNDATION, specifically those with involvement in the Path to Pro program, or content development. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I have an honest and actually easy way to fix this problem. Actually laughable stupid easy way to fix this problem. Change the culture and that is actually easier than you might think. Hell its as easy as changing a lightbulb almost. Make an Anime show. Get some anime writers artists and voice actors and dub that shit into every single language on the planet and release it world wide. If you really want to fix the problem then fight the changing culture with the changing culture. Hell the most popular games are Minecraft, Raft, Micro Big World, Fortnite, and many many other building based games. Hell even Terraria is mostly building. You have Stardew valley and other farming building games like that that are overly popular. Endorse the culture and create anime and a straight up construction game and you will change the culture. Introduce the young into the culture of the trades by literally introducing the younger into the world. Make anime and you will see an instant rise in people actually wanting to do the trades. Actually show people that the culture that they are and have been in love with for decades are the trades and they can do shit that they have been doing in gaming for years in real life. Actually show the people that the culture is not what they hate but what they love. To change to culture show people the truth and that is they have been in trades for decades without even knowing it. Hell children have master red brick mastery in mine craft and that is pretty fucking close to plumbing and electrical. Make anime and readd shop class in schools. To change this problem is not hard at all it just takes the rarest thing in the universe which is common fucking sense. There is not a hatred for the trades its just people are too stupid to realize the connections to the trades.
Hell to add to my other stuff another stupidly common thing that every fucking kid for the last 70 fucking years has been playing with for literally decades. Legos. They are literally the building blocks of the trades. Kid have been using Legos for fucking almost a fucking century. Just show a video of someone building a shed with a side by side video of someone putting together a Lego House. And have the kids in the class have their own Lego set to build that same house. Partner with Legos to build a full detailed house and have the kids literally put together the house. Doing this might cost a little bit of starter funds but you have been flushing billions of times that down the drain. Have the kids build a Lego house to be able to take home after they finish it in class and you will get the love of building and the trades back into society so fast that your head would explode. The truth in the matter is that people are fucking stupid and fail to realize the simple realistic facts. Hell even send a full life sized house kit to a ton of schools so that the students and put together a Lego house that has realistic housing items like sinks and wiring but make it all out of Legos and show the kids that the trades are fun. Partner with Legos and have the kids build a house and other stuff and you will see the instant change in society faster than you died when you called your wife fat. If Home Depot partnered with Legos and you partnered with anime studios to make a good anime with a bit over the top crazy and let the artists do their own style drawings but have the theme of plumbing and carpentry and electrical and other shit and you had all that stuff also with companies going to schools to build Lego houses with kids you will see such a change in society that even how fast your ex changed from happy to death mode than when you said "HELL YES THAT DRESS MAKES YOU LOOK FAT AS FUCKING HELL!!!!" Use common fucking sense and know what the younger generations are actually into and then you can change the cultural hatred.
Toys!!! The BIGGER BOY Work Bench for Myself! The cut some goods things off too Early, too. Those lil Kitchen playsets too!!! IWant A Real Working One!!! Plus... We Should All get A Toolbelt! S/O K.
The gears that make the machine work don't grease themselves. We can't all be conductors.
The most critical roles may be some of the least glamorous, but they can Fun!
Even in my 40s I get giddy when I get a new toy.....tool, when I get a new tool.
Also when I discover a more efficient way to do a thing
@@Rezin_8
I am in my 40s, have been a home builder, reno, and general maintenance for over 20 years,
I was also an OSHA certified site inspector I am disabled due to a drunk driver in 2007.
I continued to work all the way up to 2017 when my wife talked sense into me and I finally retired from contract labour.
I thought I could play the General Contractor game but when on a jobsite I can't not work. I just enjoy it too much.
Thankfully I was able to qualify for Social Security Disability. It's not much, but it helps.
I would love to volunteer at a community Trade School program! It is a shame when we experienced tradesmen can't pass on our decades of hard won knowledge and experience
41 years old, been in the steel trades since I was 17. Started as a welder, and have advancing into nondestructive testing. Every year I read about a “ shortage of welders “, however, look on indeed and most jobs are sub $20 per hour. That was alright back in 99 when fast food paid $5.15, now they pay $15. Not much less.
Its not a shortage of tradesmen, it’s a shortage of people willing to pay them.
Mystery solved. I've been saying the same thing there is no shortage of guys no one ones to pay them.
Thank you for saying this, welders are severely underpaid
Same with the other areas ….the pay is low,u drive too long also, u don’t get full time for full year….Layoffs ur best friend …just remember, in a couple months,we might have recession and, trade guys will be the first to feel it …just remember that
My nephew studied welding in high school and got certified his senior year. At 18 years old he started at $21/hour full-time + benefits. Move to where the work is and you get paid more.
Serious. I went into welding in school. If I wanted a welding job, I was gonna make 15 an hour, and be required to work 12 hr 6 day weeks. I realized real quickly that everything we were taught about trades is a lie. You don't actually make more. You just work so many ot hours that on paper it looks like you make more, but actually dont. Instead you get oted to death. The sickest truth is that fast food has almost caught up wage wise in my area. Or passed us.
On top of the toxic, 3 time divorcé, alcohol/tobacco addict coworkers you're surrounded by. Its just not worth it. I'm not getting paid enough in that field to baby sit a bunch of old timers with a chip on their shoulder. I just wanna work, and see my family.
Then they call you lazy because you think family is more important than them. That's the biggest gut punch.
The trades aren’t dying because of a lack of interest they’re dying from a complexity of entry. As an electrician and carpenter myself I find it pretty difficult for new people to enter. The path from off the street to journeyman isn’t easy to navigate without the help of someone in the trade. Fix the process and you’ll fix the shortage. Starting wages and tool requirements are a whole other topic one could dive into as well.
Yes this 100% - 25 year old, 3 years as an electrician now. Figuring out all the steps so I can become my own contractor, and just the first step of getting a job is soooo difficult. These older vets keep screaming shortage, but it's an absolute nightmare to find a job unless as you mentioned, you know somebody willing to let you in. And then it's good luck staying because the trades in so many places is so cutt throat. Tradesmen themselves are on a majority from my experience fairly toxic because of the bullshit coming from the white collar world making it harder on us.
Every job out there has this problem. They all want experience but aren't willing to hire anyone to give them experience.
The stats disprove your theory.
The amount of people going into trade schools, and entry level jobs is dropping.
I'm a welder and I can tell you that only 6 people from my high school graduation class are now involved in anything pertaining a trade. The rest are either in retail, some sort of drink proveyor, or still in college.
Btw I'm a welder/fabricator 100% self taught
I strongly empathize4 I was told to be an electrician you either find a apprenticeship with a company (which can strongly vary depending on where you live) or take traditional approach, go to a union (which I found leans towards nepotism or inside connections for new hires).
In SC at least for automotive jobs there is something called “Tools for Techs” which gives you 10,000 dollars in MAC tools and a job(not guaranteed)
Employer: “It’s insane you yoong people don’t wanna work these days or learn to swing a hammer”
Me: “I would like to start an apprenticeship with your company”
Employer: “We’re actually only interested in hiring apprentices with at least 2 years experience”
Me: oh okay..
employer: I can’t find any new apprentices to replace my journeyman when they retire. Kids these days are lazy
This is the trades in a nutshell
theres a real issue of comapnies claming and getting covid funds due to "not having workers" while they do everything in their power to prevent real workers from getting the job. even worse now that most jobs use AI or computers to automaticly feed thru the aplication so if your not the spitting immage they are looking for your aplication will just be automaticly deleted.
Iv got over ten years and they're still ghosting me 24/7
@@fatrat137 how tf
Or they are only looking to hire relatives of current tradesmen. Thats the issue in my area.
@@cg6217 for real, I’ve only been an electrician through the grace of my Step-dad lol. I’m learning through him before I get my license and start teaching people myself for our company.
I was a carpenter for 7 years. People treat you like crap, the pay is low, the toll on the body is high, conditions are often poor, and the hours are long. It simply is not currently worth it to pursue in my opinion.
I am thankful for what I learned but I doubt I will ever go back.
Yea I agree most likely people will simply have to settle for prebuilt homes as opposed to custom built and tailored homes made by the hand
I am guessing that prebuilt homes don’t have nearly as much of a toll on the human body as does manmade homes more so of an assembly line? Depending of course on how many units they sell …
Donr forget to mention all the tweakers you have for coworkers
illegals came in and lowered the wages even more
Most small owner operators I know make well over 100k a year. No college... no debt... on the job training... and once your qualified you get to employ other people to help create income for your family. Its horrible.... its good that you left. The less people willing to work for a living in the trades makes me that much more valuable.
I saw this coming 20 years ago when I tried to get into the trades fresh out of highschool. Applied for all kinds of trades. Plumbing, carpentry, electrical, you name it and I faced the same answer from every single employer "You don't have any experience." I asked how I was supposed to get experience if no one would hire me and was told that was my problem. This was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Yup, I remember the late 90's, it was boomers who refused to allow anyone into the trades to protect their jobs.
@@masaharumorimoto4761 now, they wanna ask why it’s dying 😂
@@masaharumorimoto4761 Oh yeah, I remember those days. Came out in 95 ready to go, and remember that same crap. One of my friends managed to get a carpenters apprenticeship - with his uncle (his dads brother). And it wasn't even easy for him. His dad had to eventually get the uncle on the phone and blow him up because the uncle kept promising the apprenticeship, and never giving a start date. Everyone else was basically shit out of luck.
My question to you is how old are you. I'm here trying to figure out how to find decent people to work and I'm hearing stories that I have never experienced myself. I've never had a problem finding a job even though I had 0 experience at it. Got bounced doing a little research on police hiring protocals and discovered something very interesting they don't want intelligent people to apply, they don't want honesty, they just want stupid people that are good lies and can be programed efficiently. That's pretty much the hiring process in the US. If you want a job you have to learn to be a really good lier and be able to back it up when the time comes to prove yourself. The thing everyone here needs to do is get a realistic vision of themselves and pursue it. When I ask a potential trainee what they want in life most of the time they say they want to be wealthy like me. That's a process that takes a lot of time and failures.
My son did a two year welding program in high school. Then after high school graduation went to Mississippi and did the State’s free welding program for shipbuilding, and gained four American Welding Society certifications.
Yet when we tried to get him a job as a beginning welder at shipbuilding companies no one wanted to hire him. So, four months ago he joined the Army. They’re training him to be a medic. So it’s likely three hard years of training will never be used.
I was unemployed last year.
I applied for over 100 apprenticeships. Didn't get a single call back.
If young people aren't joining the trades, maybe it's because of a lack of entry-level jobs.
its even worse when the guys hiring only want 20years experiance for lower than entry lvl postion pay. no thanks
was gonna say the same. They complain about lack of workers while gate keeping the jobs for their buddies.
@@veryfrozen3271 So true there like no we don't want you come back after 10 years of experience its like how am I support to get experience if every freakin place requires 10 just to get started and on top of that the pay for 10years of experience is crap
THIS IS ON POINT. .....iv been doing the same thing ,been in auto over 15 years now all of the sudden no matter how many I send out I get no response back
I've got an idea find a place where houses are being built ask in person for a JOB do that at every constitution site you find and you will get hired sooner or later I worked construction for thirty years and do not remember any company I worked at offering apprenticeships unless you were the bosses kid
You’re the only older person I’ve seen that doesn’t talk down to the younger generation for not knowing skills that were never taught to them. Thank you for that.
Not all of us 40 and over crew are assholes
Lol the old heads in this gig have been dealing with blame games since the beginning there just more complex tactics in use these days but u would be surprised how many of the older guys get it bout the younger generation….construction is a cut throat business not many cut out for it…. In my book anybody who shows up is okay by me the rest will fall into place usually…. In this business I learned early on it’s not worth it to work for someone else usually…. So learn what u got to learn and figure out what ur good at and how to provide it to a customer and get in like that, how I did…. Even then u have to find motivation from other places other then just monetary reasons or one want make it to the finish line…. One day the working man will be a rare commodity allready is….
Pray for thick skin I have been called dumb ass stupid and given the shaft so many times on the way up the ladder to journey man electrician
@@chrisyurk6367 Usually those people went through the same thing when they were younger and feel the need to 'pass it on'. A real man wouldn't be like that. Congrats on your journeyman!
@@robertcordell7312that back is god tier bro, is that you?
As a 30 year old that gave the trades a good college try before going to college, I can say the most significant thing is people in the trades treat newcomers like shit.
Sadly true, Brendan. 😞 There’s an extremely unnecessary tough guy element that is painfully outdated.
thankfully it's changing as babyboomers are retiring
@@simonmonty7171 I'm a newcomer (sort of) and let me tell you shit people I've come across so far come from all age groups.
They are paying for the fact that it's one of the only domain that is not willing to invest on teaching properly and we are stuck learning on the job with impatient people that would like to make more profits out of their employees right there and now. Most of them can't find people to work for them anymore lol
That's not always true. I can't speak for the commercial construction environment, but the residential construction environment is usually very positive. At least that's true where i'm from in Vancouver Canada
Great book for a beginner . th-cam.com/users/postUgkxD-QRFQz730FJEh4f9BYSf-nkIMIC9hL_ this book really starts from the beginning, as in it explains what basic tools are and how to use them. But when it gets to the art of creating joints and how and when to use them this book really starts to teach you something. At least that was my experience.
The issue I had with the trades is that everytime I've applied to any of them I was always pushed away for "lack of enough experience" instead of being welcomed and trained. These trade companies need to be more willing to train people even if that means slowing down a bit for the sake of growing their work force.
Yeah, only unions or “community” college/Vocational schools/trade schools will give you the experience not many companies are willing to train people as it hinders their bottom line. This has always been the case, and is why guilds were so popular leading up to the Industrial Revolution.
19yr old carpenter here. I got very lucky with the company I got hired. I applied to about 12 and only one offered me a job where the rest rejected me for not enough experience. Yet I had several years of finish and labor positions.
Absolutely correct. I'm a veteran steelworker and welder. I have no problem training people and my training retains people. Sadly, many bosses are still in high school and can't think beyond their ego.
@@KRYMauL When it comes to welding, trade schools NEVER teach realistic experience. NEVER. In fact there was a time that if welding companies knew you went to certain welding schools (diploma mills), they would not hire you.
@@heyman5525 I’m talking about getting training not just going to pass a test
Your “where did all the carpenters go” video helped me convince my parents to let me leave college and enroll in trade school. I’m now in a CoOp program through the school and an electrician’s apprentice making pretty good money.
Good on you young man. All those programmers think they're hot stuff...until the power goes out.
Worked in the trades for 10+ years to pay for college. Should have remained in the trades. There was so much family pressure to go to college...
That's great to hear, Mears! We need more young electricians like you. Good luck, and work safe! :)
@MearsBros, I’ve been an electrician for 32 years(90% in industrial),it was only bad right after 9/11. With the initiative to go green there’s more need than ever for an electric update to our system. If you can get into industrial you’ll be set for a very rewarding career. Good luck ⚡️⚡️👷🏻♂️
Yeah, well. Best thing to do is get a college degree anyway . . . in business maybe . . . so that you can run your own business and not let bosses take advantage of you.
Been building all my life. Retired 8 years ago. The money isn't there anymore. Everyone wants the cheapest labor they can find regardless of the quality. Most of the honest companies are a thing of the past. And so am i.
A good & reliable chippy is almost impossible to find & you aren't cheap. I've been A chippy labourer for yrs, I even freak out how much it cost to get things done. Materials are ridiculously priced. Jobs are more robots less ppl with $. It's simple maths. I worked for minimum wage for yrs just to help ppl make $ & get things done. They didn't care if i busted my back doing it. I gave up. I can watch movies & careless.
@@alexboros1751 It caused by wall street profiteers demanding to be paid for having a pile of capital that sits around doing no thing by itself.
@@kimobrien. agreed
Pretty impressive how the national homebuilders get away with using so many illegals for work.
@@gaiterat6187 Naturally they get away with paying and hiring whoever works for less. I makes no difference which party is in power they like bringing in immigrant labor legal or illegal if they can pay them less. Politicians do nothing but grandstand on the issue because they are funded by Wall street. Only by organizing all workers into unions can wages be pushed up. Bosses only want to pay the lowest wages, work you the longest hours and cut social and tax costs to the bone.
As a tradesman I can't wait for a decline in the workforce,supply and demand maybe we can start to earn accordingly
this , this is why not paid enough. no one wants to inhale saw dust all day and get paid 20$/hr
@@morningbear3794 I'm for south Africa lucky if we could make $20 a day
@@morningbear3794 Thank you. You get it. The pay doesn't equal the damage your body will take.
As tradesmen, we had to collectively quit or go on vacation to increase earnings.
I'm waiting for trucking to really start hurting. My generation is the last to have old school skills. Most trucks are automatic now so companies will be hard pressed to find drivers that can drive a 18 speed transmission or operate various niche equipment.
I've seen the trades decline. I feel this is part of the problem. They want more out of us for less money. The working conditions have gotten worse as well.
One thing people dont talk about is that tools suck these days, they are garbage and you cant get better unless finding something old. I watched a video where it literally took less force from older tooling than it did top of line these days, I believe it was a wrenchs that the guu was testing. Watching cheap chinese taps break hand tapping copper is also very tragic.
Come on... Don't you want to ruin your health, watch your family slip away and see everything you built get burnt down in the honor of some criminal? Who need money and to be recognized as an honest and contributing member of society when you can have all of that?
Meanwhile I have no reason to ever need anyone of any trade because my landlord doesn't allow me to make repairs where I live and he just hires whoever is cheapest.
And few are willing to accept/teach new guys on top of all that. It's the responsibility of the learned men to pass on their skills to those following them for the preservation of both the craft and society itself, but many older guys would unfortunately prefer to bully newbies for not already possessing knowledge/skills they have no way of knowing, cause that's how their daddy taught them so now it's their turn to take that out on someone else's son.
The problem with the trades is not that is has a messaging or perception problem, it’s that the perception is true. I’m 24, I tried to get into the trades for 4-6 years to get into the trades. I worked in roofing insulation, and a concrete company. Bad experience after bad experience pushed me into the trucking industry. I was consistently the hardest working young man out there. Never complained, always proactive. Wes never given a rase, never shown appreciation and lied about from jealous workers. I tried to get hired on as an apprentice for other trades over and over and could never get in. On top of all this I started a young family and realized the trades wouldn’t pay enough anyway to support my family anyway. Now I work 65 hours a week as a driver and never see my family. I make the same wage as a journeyman electrician and still just barely get buy. The trades are already dead
It all comes down to the disconnect from upper management and superiors with their junior level workers. They expect you to have their knowledge, but give you bare minimum pay, and then complain that you aren’t good enough. It’s the same situation in Engineering to a certain degree. Pay may be better, especially at junior/entry level positions, but the expectations, especially for entry, are absurd. Hence why we have an “engineering shortage”, and why companies outsource this work overseas.
COVID-19 is really waking the world up to this issue cause now we are seeing that massive gap in experience. It’s like a corroded piece of painted steel. Once you remove that layer of paint on top, you will notice the deep corroded out hole underneath caused by water leaking through holes. Once you remove the very skilled and knowledgeable seniors due to old age and forced retirement due to COVID-19, you will see that massive gap caused by absurd expectations (water), and it ain’t pretty.
@@howardbaxter2514 disconnect? No my guy , THEY JUST DONT GIVE A FUCK. their actions have shown this much
Yes dude I just turned 25 but the last 2 years I work 2 warehouse jobs that had three main trades I was interested in but the people I work with either lied or my colleagues at the time would get piss off with either me or themselves when they fuck up and let it out on me and basically it takes times to get me piss off but once you do it’s a whole scene even rn I’m still debating to get into a trade or give up and just become a supervisor at Walmart 😂
Wow, all I hear is sour grapes. No one told me I was special so I quit. Wtf. I’ve been in masonry for 12 years. Was a laborer for 5 of them showing I was committed to the lifestyle. No one wants to train someone who isn’t serious and waste their time. But if you have a good attitude and not be trying to out perform everyone else on the same damn team the old heads are usually cool about teaching anyway. After laying brick for 7 years I’m good at it. So good I start my own business. I make great money, my own schedule and I’m my own boss. It’s all about getting the skills. That’s it. Not recognition, extravagant pay, or attaboys, not until after you’re the fucking best at what you do.
Underpaid overworked and not appreciated one bit
I was doing hvac sheet metal, and the boss who was very skilled literally said to me “ I don’t teach because if I teach you, you will want a raise, and I won’t give you a raise and then you will leave”. This is also the same guy who constantly complained that young people don’t want to work and he can’t find good help. Meanwhile I’m showing up early, i am watching TH-cam videos, staying late on my own time practicing with scrap, cleaning the shop at 26 years old. Yeah I did a year at 15$ an hour, cut up, bleeding, filthy. I did duct installs and fabrication for 15$ an hour. FML I really thought trades would take me somewhere. Hahahahaha.
That’s just a bad boss, Aron. They’re out there. Sometimes you have to take a quest for a career path. But the right boss, who is looking for people to teach, will most likely change your life.
I was thinking the same thing. A boss who wants to keep you low value also has less to offer to his customers. If he fears you leaving with a little training, then jump the gun and leave anyways! Even if it's a latteral move with the same pay, at least it's somewhere new, with new opportunities.
I’ve been in HVAC/sheet metal for 19 years. I am now an estimator. That is a bad boss and unfortunately that attitude happens a lot. I have personally fired multiple Forman on the spot when hearing them say the same thing to apprentices or when I’ve heard them say “they won’t teach someone how to take their job”
U sound non union like most sad and angry people in these comments. I did over a year as a tinner and in that short time I was treated like shit and paid like shit but I applied to all union for over a year and got into pipefitters and now making over double what I use to get paid and only going up don’t give up.
Aron he’s fucking you and you know it and I don’t even know what the right path out would be.
23 now and been a shipfitter for about 4 years and the biggest problem I have with trades has a the willingness for companies to pay people properly their worth
If they don't pay... Walk away. I did. Best decision of my life, and the best part is I'm no longer killing myself to pay the welfare of those who would look down on me while burning my life's work to honor some criminal who abused them.
Also lack of flexibility. Why would I do this shit when I can sit at home and be an accountant making the same amount of money!?
my high ass thought that said shoplifter
I weld and fit steel ships. Where you located. I'm a dual citizen working in BC. Always looking for the next gig. Got about a year left on my current project.
@@joeciok work for a shipyard that make ships for the navy. It’s called ingalls shipbuilding based in Mississippi
I think the biggest problem is from the older generation. They can't teach or communicate properly, then they get angry as hell when their people are having a difficult time learning. The process is so frustrating that young people would rather go somewhere else. That old style of, "You'll learn by screwing up." Just doesn't work, especially not if the teacher has a short fuse. It also doesn't help if they're pushing 60+ hours a week on a generation who values their time more than the low wage they're being paid
100% facts
No it's because you kids think you know it all already. You have no patience and give up on yourselves too fast. Take responsibility and stop blaming everyone but yourself. And can't even blame the parents because the power was taken away from parents decades ago.
Everyone valyes thier time. You just feel entitled to not have to work first..
@@th-cc6ei or you could just not be an asshole and still help someone learn from their mistakes. And perhaps not assume that they don't have patience or wish to take responsibility. Just like I shouldn't assume that you get drunk every night and beat your wife. Even though it seems like you're the type. Not fun is it?
@@th-cc6ei you old heads are assholes its a fact. i will punch one of you out if you ever get in my face like you douchebags have in the past
I don’t know about other trades, but I’ve worked in HVAC since 1993 and unbelievably contractors are cutting wages right now. Many are paying what they did 15 years ago. It’s really hard to take this message seriously anymore. The world may need to be built, but HVAC workers can’t afford to live in the houses they help build. Until wages catch up, this shortage will continue.
As always, your mileage may vary
This is the same with me. I worked 23 years as an auto tech and wages never increase. Now they have a shortage of people who want to be techs. And I wouldn’t want anyone to get Into this industry. Heck even I left for better paying jobs.
I went to School for 14 months & they wanted to start off at $9.00 per hour. I went & got my CDLs.
Yep !
@@marvin469 I started off at seven dollars an hour back in 1993. By 1996 I was making $8 and hour. By 2010 it was $14 an hour. Even today in 2022 the same firm was starting service tax off at $14 an hour with a maximum of $20 an hour. With all of the tools which are not cheap and now they want you to be North American technician excellent certified, which is also expensive it’s not worth it. truth be told there are good technicians out there and making very good money, but they are getting rare. I make decent money now because I got out of HVAC
Every time I worked on a construction crew there were some real monsters and D gens. A lot of drug attics and alcoholics, always worried about where my tools are. The supervisors were always so pissy. I liked building stuff, really enjoyed framing, but it wasn’t worth dealing with all the A-holes.
Well said.
Yupppp
try being a self employed handyman that is really in demand. You don't have to worry about drug addicted cowerkers.
Not to be that guy but a drug attic would be cool. Lol it's "addict"
I'm just dealing with the bullshit till it's time to start my business
Because as a carpenter, i was building homes i could never afford...
As a DevOps engineer, i can now start thinking about getting a house, its not just a dream anymore.
Exactly
Wild to hear this as an Australian where the average salary of a carpenter is 75,000 a year. I make 39 dollars an hour building trusses as a 22 yr old with no prior experience or qualifications. What were you paid if you don't mind me asking, I'm just curious.
@@j4y167 building trusses in my area is considered unskilled labor and pays 15-17 usd per hour where the average house is $450k+
@@mekal779 after currency conversion your house prices are pretty similar to my area. The company I work for uses a weird European style of building, I'm also required to design certain specialty sections (some buildings have requirements leaving the predesigned trusses non viable) myself but I taught myself CAD and the basics of engineering online, mentioned this in the interview and he tested me on it. I passed.
I wouldn't say it's unskilled labour but it's certainly not that advanced and something anyone decently computer literate who's strong and good with their hands could learn on their own.
@@j4y167 not hating on programmers. I love it as a hobby but I make money off trades and I can easily make $3k a week. Not sure what he’s talking about that he couldn’t afford a house, especially when you are obtaining the skills to actually make a house which in turn substantially reduces the cost of a home.
I tried to be a carpenter, but no one would take me on.
I found this to be true in all the trades.
But now I'm in autobody.
For real I've tried in my local carpenters and plumbers and pipe fitters. They don't call even after passing the test the drug test not to mention the dedication to stand outside while it's snowing freezing your face and hands that when you get in you can't barely write your name smh
Autobody is a good skill to have, if you can do autobody you can do work better than a lot of yacht workers. Most people in Marine don't know a ton about MEK and resin mixing percentages, or good use of fillers or anything. They just kind of assume "a lot of everything" is what works, which is really not the case. Too many layers of fiberglass on top of each other with too much MEKP can lead to burning, which can make fragile structures.
Too little harder in too cold of an environment can lead to improper curing. I lot of auto guys work in cleaner more professional environments where that stuff can be done right, boats are often in crapper boatyards, marinas, or someone's backyard.
The point of what I'm saying is one day you can go work on boats and charge 150$ an hour for every person you have working on that boat and make killer money, even if it's just yourself. The cost of starting it is normally lower than an auto shop, because you don't need lifts, a shop, specialty tools, etc.
@@Samuri5hit84 I was reading this thinking this idea was genius then it dawned on me…I live in the desert😢
@@leonelgalan9431 yep. Where I grew up, it’s who you knew to get into a trade. I went to a vocational school, did well, but never got a call from companies or unions. I knew others too, and that was back 30yrs ago. I do quite well now without working a trade. Screw the unions, they’re all a scam.
@@josh3326 yeah it's crazy I have a journey men buddy in the pipe fitters guess his name and word don't mean anything to the guy that runs the apprenticeships lol
My high school, without saying it directly, basically told me that I would be a loser if I didn't go to a traditional college or university. "Uneducated", I'm now a project manager whose biggest professional struggle is to find suitable workers to complete various parts of my projects. The thing is .. we pay really well. My teachers were wrong.
My father used to say that teachers have a very limited view of life because they never left school. The modern way of thinking now in education is to attempt to hire from other sectors of the economy so that the instruction can be as current and relevant to real life as possible.
This was not always the case.
“Project manager” I hated working for those guys 😂 they take all the money and do none of the work
same here. 9th grade drop out. state licensed commercial contractor since 24.... 20 years now. done city parks, playgrounds for schools, federal gov projects, hotels, etc. millionaire by 30. owned house at 25. 18 trucks and bmw now. cant find anyone that can hammer a nail or drive a screw or read a tape. or wipe their own azz. no one can put a blade on a mower, start a blower or wind a weed eater. you have to hold their dix when they pee even. employees need to pay us to babysit
Those teachers are all being replaced by Filipino teachers that are better and more open minded.
Teachers generally are wrong
In the province I live in Canada we were actually really encouraged to go into the trades. But honestly after I've graduated high school I think the biggest problem is that there's plenty more opportunities for better pay, hours, less wear and tear on the body and a better work culture. Very few people want to get yelled at for being new at something and not knowing everything immediately.
Personally i like the part with being yelled at, i hate this whole "the workplace has to be nice and everybody has to talk nicely to everybody" its not like that, and if its okay to put some hars words out makes the whole atmosphere more realistic.
I have had a employee who was like that, every word was buttered down and when you told her some hard facts she worked 50% less simply because she felt like it.
In my trade times, you got called out, asked what the fuck you were doing there and to put you head behind it.
Thats a fact, if you dont know something, figure it out, if you cant, ask someone. If you fuck it up thats fine but stand behind what you have done and bear the consequences.
I am 22 and i can tell you there are a lot of people who are a lot older than me and still have not figured it out.
If i fucked up and you shout at me thats fine i deserve it, i thats not the case i will fire back.
No arrogance is allowed to be involved here just professionalism and this can be loud to!
@@RektalReptil Bro that's crazy but I don't remember asking
Try doing community college first and then applying for apprenticeships. Employers want to take in a committed person, not a flaky one.
@@alexsmith-ob3lu Employers give soft pay for hard labour. I'll commit to a job that understands that's BS.
@@DGS2605 Well, that depends on what sector or industry you're going into. I was just talking out my experiences getting into a trade.
I was in the trades for a decade. Finally I got tired of the layoffs and wrecking my body. I got into IT and now I make almost 3x money from my home office.
Even worse if it's oil and gas related, every spring you're at risk of getting canned.
would like to hear that process .
You need to look at the bigger picture, your getting paid less but you're learning a trade, get 4 or 5 years under your belt, save money and start your own business, when you work for someone else your job is to make money for them, you start your own business and I guarantee you will make more money in a day than you will in any sector of IT, Damn a good plumber can make 100 an hour easy if on an hourly rate, if it's a priced job can make 1500 to 2000 in a day, you can't expect to just walk in and get the big bucks, if your employer was paying you 20 an hour i guarantee he was charging the customer 50 or 60 an hour for you, it's not easy but you put in the work and after some time you will see the benefits
@@bandit911 IT work still pays way more than you make and we don't have to destroy our bodies doing it.
@@kenshinhimura9387 stay in IT then and look after your body 🤷🏻♂️
I just pulled up job listings for carpenters in my area. Starting salary appears to be around $31k/year. Crazy idea, maybe if the salaries were higher, it would be easier to attract people to those jobs.
I dropped out of college and stumbled into electrical, ended up doing low voltage. I'm making more than most people my age (I'll be 26 a week after writing this comment) but it kinda stagnates and the only way to make good money is by putting in 60+ hours a week, which sucks since I'm more of a family man. My wife and I want to have kids and I'm not going to sacrifice time with them, so I've been thinking about finding another career path if I can't find anything in this trade that pays more within the next few years. I'd be more than happy to stay if the pay goes up
Key word “starting.” The trades have been appealing because you can start a career without school. Intelligent men start their career and build their life then start a family. Stupid men will start a family before they’ve built their career then complain they don’t make enough for family expenses. That’s like putting up the framing of a house on a wet foundation. It doesn’t work. There is a reason men don’t hit their prime until their 30s. So all you men complaint about the starting pay of any job, it’s just because you tried to shortcut life and fell behind others who didn’t.
That's crazy. Our entry-level people at the bank in IT on helpdesk, in the Midwest, low cost of living, and we still pay 40K/year to new people. Also, good benefits, and the bank doesn't lay people off in this department.
That's fine I'll just live in my car for a few years
@@ummmkay1744 “you didn’t make the big money until 4-6 years in”
Ya no duh. It takes years to build up the pay. Same with literally every field.
“The experience between a 6 year and a 20 year is incredibly noticeable”
Again no duh. I bet a 30 years would be more noticeable still. That’s how experience works. It increases with time.
No there are a lot of companies even here are TH-cam that so honest work and make a living.
The trades have never made you wealthy but they have always provided a living until modern times when people are more materialistic then ever. You want the biggest tv, house, and car. An employers could offer 50k and they would complain it’s not enough, then raise it to 60k and the employee would just add more bills then complain it’s not enough. I’m not buying that the greed of modern society is responsible for the trades dying. It’s their unwillingness to train. Pure and simple.
I only ever saw one problem with the trades, the end game. An electrician, carpenter, and ironworker told me when I was a teenager the same thing, the 50-63 years were the toughest on them. They wouldn't recommend it unless you had some sort of plan to make your money and transition into something else.
Yup, you only have 30 years to make your lifetime earnings and until the trades pay what they used to it just isn't gonna work. It worked for me but only because I worked hard and invested in homes when the pay was equivalent to $50/hr today
This is basically what I said. It's hard on yhe body! A CPA can do taxes well into their 70s but trade works put their body on the line everyday and eventually it is going to wear out.
@@Scott-by9ks Exactly, I was agreeing with you AND providing a real-life (my own) example
You have to be smart with your body and know your limits. in the trades a lot of the older guys pushed their bodies pass their limits on the daily back then because that was the macho environment. until they realized they were destroying their bodies it was too late a lot of older guys will tell me when I'm working it's not even worth going 110% everyday cause eventually the job will always get done one way or another
@@Scott-by9ks I'm in the trades now, plus I have a degree in business-accounting. Will be doing the accounting in my "retirement".
I am gen Z and when I was in HighSchool the only options my teachers ever told me existed was Collage or to work right out of HS. It wasn't until one day I was talking to my senior counselor and he was asking me about post high school choices and one of the things he said was trade school, so I said i wanted to go to a trade school to fake that I had a post HS plan (I had no idea what a trade school was), than he said what trade I wanted to do, after he said a bunch careers I randomly choose Electrician and he started to look up trade schools with me. around 6 months after I graduated I am currently 4/6 months into the Pipe-fitting trade all coming from a random conversation I had with my counselor because I didn't want to look like I had no direction with my life.
Do you like it ? Or are you just floating through it because you have/had no direction? Asking because I have been looking for different views on this
@@tsulifejohnn7205 once I got into it I actually liked it. The welding part is my favorite since I'm actually good at it
I didn't go to college I did trade school for Plumbing also do pipefitting your right most teachers only mentioned College only a few talked military or Trade school
I was strong and fit after 30 years as a carpenter/builder/remodeler. I got out of construction during the last downturn and went into database design. Sat working in a chair for 10 years. Gained 40 lbs of fat and probably lost 15 lbs of muscles. It's taken me four years of bike riding and working out to get back into reasonable shape. Office jobs take a toll on your body, too.
Plus, working outside makes you tough!
word bro, i had a desk job for 17 yrs.. when i started in warehouse before going to framing, i lost 40lbs in 6 months! in my 50s! yes it was hard, body does NOT recover over night so it takes weeks to get any relief, had i not been a Marine in my early yrs i doubt it would have been as "easy".... SFMF
When I worked with my dad painting and around all the other trades laboring away, but seeing many of the homeowners hire someone out for absolutely everything there was to do in their lives, my dad used to say "these people will age more quickly and die faster".
There was truth to that. My dad retired in his late 70s VERY healthy and strong. He just turned 80 last year and when he wasn't working he was starting to show his age more and more. His health started declining, etc.
Then he got a full time job again (out of pure choice, because he can't not work) and his health has stabilized and he's in amazing shape for 81 yrs old.
Huh, why did you get out of the trades. My guess is that you could make better money and not break your body down like you do I. A manual labor job. Welcome to the reason no young people want to go into manual labor trades if they're smart and or have options.
@@HAL-dm1eh Well I would love to see a study on your exact theory. Because my assumption is that for every person like your dad that made it through a long life in a manual labor career healthy and without some chronic injury there are 10 others that have broken their body down to a level that they have physical issues during their retirement. I could be wrong but im in the trades and I see the trends of today's manual labor issues. Maybe back in your dad's day there was a steady transition and upward movement where enough young people were getting into the trades where tradesmen weren't overwhelmed with work like they are today which creates serious overwork issues, and in manual labor jobs that always leads to injury.
@@duncdunc76 I was in Reno, NV at the time, during the mortgage crisis. Construction went to zero. I had always done databases for my own companies and decided to try that for awhile.
Brilliant!!! As an almost-60 year old, who only just graduated from a 2-year Carpentry Program, I wish I had been introduced to the trades when I was younger ( a lot younger). As discussed, trades were not encouraged as a career path while growing up. I didn't even realize it was an option. At 58, I returned to school to pursue a trade I am currently loving :)
That is truly inspirational. Good luck and enjoy your new venture.
That is awesome. I'm 42 and wasn't sure if I'm just too old to learn a trade.
Am 70. My body is too broken to return to carpentry.
It's satisfying to gain a skill set. At 54, I chucked in a management role to undertake a joinery course - the class includes two in their 40s, a couple of 30 year-olds, 4 x 20 year olds, and the rest 18 Yr olds. It's an awesome group, and we have top notch equipment. Our government has supported this course, which is free, and also gives us a tool kit. :)
Never too old to learn a trade!!
I have to say that among workplaces I've regularly been involved with, trades is amongst the most toxic work environments I've been involved with as well as my friends. All of us have tried to get into different fields only to be met with hostility and resistance from people within the industry themselves. Add to that companies who are not willing to offer you apprenticeships and many local companies which essentially cannot guarantee work through the year and you've got an industry that is fundamentally broken at every level within the hiring and retention process.
The trade world is very toxic, i agree with you 100%
I was a plumber for a bit, it was hard, but good work, and at the time it paid well, for no experience. I left for greener pastures because I was expected to buy my own tools and do an apprenticeship process that was pointless. I met masters who literally didn't last two days and apprentices who could have done anything. The system is broken.
I was an electrical apprentice 20 years ago, right out of trade school. Journeyman electricians didn’t want to “babysit” as I overheard them talking about us one day. That stung hard and was very discouraging. For an entire year no company would even return a call, forget about looking at a resume of an apprentice. I eventually gave up and moved on.
Affirmative action did it for me! I said screw it ! If you ain’t black or got tits , you ain’t getting any apprenticeship.
These are very protected trades, like a medieval guild. They want to see how much crap you can put up with before entering, but once you're in ...
I got a job as a full electrician for a month to see what I can do, straight outta school so only papers I had were some useless qualifications for working up to 1kV and shit. Day 3 main boss man says 3 people quit so I gotta go work on a Scizor lifter, then 2 days later on a basket lifter. No papers, not training, no harness or even a fucking hard cap I would probably not wear anyway because retarded 19yo. His arguments, they have joysticks like in video games so I'll figure it out. Nearly killed a man because a lamp fell from 6 meters straight onto a working assembly line.
@@8BitNaptime that's the problem. People in a guild type system have an incentive to keep it protected so that labor supply is low and they are in demand. Then they retire, and what happens afterwards is not their concern. They're essentially selling out the future of their industry to get as much money as they can before they get out. That's why all these trades are drying up.
@@bobbyhillthuglife No aquired skill gained under capitalism can protect you from the greed of wall street. Capitalism has destroyed whole trades and industries in the name of cutting the cost of production. You don't see many union plasterers or painters using brushes like my grand father. The capitalist don't need educated workers rather they need workers educated in following their orders.
I believe a big part of this problem is public policy that has stressed STEM education over the past generation. Children are simply expected to pursue science careers and parents subtly warn their kids that if they don't get a computer science degree, they may be punished to a career on a construction site.
Good point, Steve! STEM was lagging in the past, but with the rise of the tech economy, it seems that everyone’s solution is “just learn programming or web development.” Programming especially is needed, but it’s drastically outweighing all other things for young people, and the large tech companies have the capital and sway to promote it even more heavily. A lot of people going through programming training quickly find out how dull it is though! Ironically, some of them rebound to trade education 😂
But it's not just STEM. My son is trying to get into the trades, but he simply can not live in this area on an apprentice's earnings. Add in the lack of health insurance etc.
People will move back into the trades when they pay as much as STEM jobs do. And, if economics and a free market are allowed to operate, that's what we should expect to happen over time. In my area, if I call out a tradesman, I know I'm going to be charged at least $100 per hour (which is why I do almost everything myself) but that doesn't go far if they send out 3 people.
I think that's the biggest problem. Stem is probably not just as important as the trades, the isssue is, STEM pays sooo much more than trades do. I think if this massive wage gap in what trades get paid compared to what any tech job gets paid get's closed, you will see more people in trade.
its not that its frowned upon, its that you make significantly less money in the trades. So why would you encourage your children to pursue a demanding job that doesnt pay well
DIY and proliferation of tools also reduce the demand on tradesman. Insurance cost has also reduced the motivation to go into trade.
I started welding in the Marine Corps. I love it. I’m good at it. It’s something I want to do. I’ve done it overseas contracting and I’ve done it at home in TX. It’s shocking how hard you have to work for such meager pay. I know how valuable a skill it is and I know how much these companies make just to turn around and lowball your pay while trying to squeeze every penny out of you. Either you have no hrs and can’t make ends meet or you have to find a place with a crazy amount of mandatory OT so you can pay the bills but not have time/energy for anything else. Even in the situations where I’ve been fortunate enough to get around that, it’s the guys above me that don’t want me there, and try to keep me from advancing. It’s very sad. I am VERY good at metalworking. I have SO much experience. A wide breadth of knowledge and I genuinely love working with my hands and creating. The industry just doesn’t love me back and I feel like I’ve just wasted so much time building something that I’m held back from finishing and seems like will never actually benefit me. So, now I’m trying to transition into one of the ‘cyber’ jobs. Full of younger ppl like myself. Laid back culture and plenty of room for ppl like myself that enjoy working hard, coming in and accomplishing something, and doing it again, all while trying to achieve mastery.
Trades without unions is like bread without butter without butter the bread just “gets the job done.”
@@KRYMauL but a trade union spends money for their Apprenticeship Programs ( 5 year commitment ). Additional money is spent for Journeyman training . The piping industry for example spans from modest home plumbing to the oil Refinery, piping in the micro electronics industry , Bio Pharmaceutical, Nuclear Powerhouse. A worker can never learn it all , but the Union trains it's members to do the work .
J'vari , I love to weld also. Welding is only a tool of a trade , the real skill is being able to work happily with co-workers .
When co-workers do not like a person , they will never go out of their way to forward your success.
Thanks man. I’ve been in a situation like that only once and I ended up winning them over. That’s not really my issue tho
@@Emptywalletusa I think I autocorrected to “wit” instead of “witout.” I want provolone not cheese whiz.
I just wanted to comment and say I am a skilled trades teacher at a high school in Nova Scotia Canada . I watched this video when you first posted it and it inspired me to make a move on an idea I've had for a few years. I wanted to take skilled trades activities and knowledge about trades to our 2 local elementary schools. I had to pitch my idea to the higher up in the system and they loved it, supported me on it and today I finished my 2nd day with grade 5 students. You inspired me to finally do it and I hope to keep it going and build it bigger.
You said it all so well in your video
That’s wonderful! I’m really glad you did it, and REALLY glad your school system supported you. We need to see more of this everywhere. Thank you for taking the initiative! Many of those kids will remember that experience forever, because it will be unlike anything else they’ll experience in the school system. Good job!🙂
People don’t realize how incredibly difficult it is to simply get into the trades. You go and apply at a Union, take the exams, etc… and never get a call back.
Many “entry level” jobs low key require you to have many years of experience but it’s hard to get the experience.
I’ve been told by many people that you have to know someone to get in the trades or you might just get a lucky break. There’s always outliers in the comments saying “Yeah I simply applied and I got in!” But that’s not the case for most people.
So the trades might be dying. …but I feel zero sympathy. The industry seems to be more concerned with keeping people out than letting people in. These same people will turn around and say “Nobody wants to do the trades. We’re a dying breed.” it’s such BS. Unions and companies don’t want to hire anybody unless you get lucky or it’s nepotism.
Yup bingo, I just commented something similar, this is the problem, and pay that hasn’t kept up with the times.
Agreed, no sympathy for trade employers. Want workers? Make it easy, attractive, and rewarding to work for you. It’s not rocket science.
As an accountant, I don't even know how I would've got into trades if that was the path I chose. I knew that to become an accountant I needed to go to college and take some accounting and business classes. There were no carpentry classes available there that I saw. I cant be the only one... maybe most people just don't know how to get into it even if they wanted to.
It's not if you don't go Union. I live in Florida and I'm a small business owner residential carpentry. I am begging for help. I would hire anybody with or without experience I don't care if you have tools or not. It's every trade down here it's every small business owner I know. We are swamped with work and there's no help. So down here it's extremely easy. All my buddies that are in the trade business down here we just simply started by somebody telling us a new somebody hiring and we got the job.
You're a massive outlier. I'm in Texas and after working 16 hour shifts with little AC and 30% staff at a max prison for a year, I tried to do something else. The best opportunity In the trades I found was offered nepotistically at 14 an hour, no per diem at a jobsite an hour and 1/2 away as a pipe fitter helper. Tried it for a few months anyway and gas ate all the money I made. To all young men like me STAY AWAY FROM THE TRADES. Only exception is if your uncle or cousin can hand you that 30$ an hour union job.
Yeah then if you get an apprenticeship. You better hope the journeymen want to teach you.
I was an electrician for over 7 years. I was underpaid the whole way through. Could never get raises & when I went on my own was constantly low balled & had ppl who failed to pay. Left & never looked back ✌🏽
I'm currently a journeymen workman for the ibew and I hate it man underpaid and over worked looking for a way out while I'm still sum what young (30 years old)
@@leroystrokesmen5666 if you hate get out sooner than later, what sounds more interesting to you, money is only a certain amount of importance, if your not happy than not worth it to do it for another 30+ years and finally be able to maybe enjoy your life
@@leroystrokesmen5666 if you don’t mind sharing though what do you not like about it and what’s your pay bc I’m thinking of getting into the trades because nothing else really interest me
Sounds like weak business acumen on your part, there are people who went out on their own and scaled their business to over a million dollars in revenue in less than 5 years in ALL TRADES, it’s not what you do it’s how you do it,
A lot of good tradesmen are bad business men. We undercharge for our work a lot. I undercharge with the hope that customers will advertise my business to my friends smh.
Well, I was a union carpenter out of Local 24 in Yalesville, CT. During the early 2000's the locals started losing contracts and the work was scarce. I looked around at other companies, but the paid gap was too wide. I was making $53/hr as a 4th year apprentice (which included my benefits) in 2004. Today, if I decided to pick up a hammer and give it a go, I may get $18/hr in 2022. That's why there's a shortage of carpenter and tradesmen. You can't live on minimal and expect me to work in the elements. Our government did a disservice to the trade industry stating the jobs were for "losers" and get a job at Starbucks. As you stated in this video, we have to get the younger children involved and offer livable wages for tradesmen.
Factor in your gas to from the jobs.Your first few hours work go into the tank As a roofer I'm comuiting 108 miles round trip. Sucks.
That's why the fact that national politicians who push the free college for all programs for some reason NOT mentioning that included in the plan is free technical college is stupid. There would be far more support if people were informed that it gave a wider choice of careers.
@@brianjacobsen8878 Bruh....Damn
That seems like overcompensation and the result of unions for sure when $53 an hour at 2004 if only 4 years in. I know no other job industry offering that pay for only 4 years of paid education/experience.
This is part of the problem. I work in education and my pay is like $26 an hour today. I had to get a degree for my job. I would gladly take up a trade, pop in some headphones and enjoy a day of health physical labor, that is extremely rewarding compared to sitting around all day doing paperwork.
Gate keeping, and keeping younger and new recruits, part timers, gig workers and the like out of the industry is bad for society. It drives up prices and labor, when neaturally it deserves to be a little less (not a lot).
53 dollers an hour with four years no wonder you cant find a job you want lead carpenter money with laborer exp
A career where you work crazy long hours but don't have year round work (depending on where you live), often have to do hard physical labor outside with little to no retirement benefits, hostile environment for inexperienced people, an industry that roller coasters from feast to famine constantly, a profession that has little social status, have to take ish from abusive bosses who also want to stick their nose into what you do outside of work with drug testing. I can't imagine how the trade industry is struggling to find new people.
I see you mentioned the drug testing. Yeah it's definitely B.S. I've spent many of the last 20 years staying clean off and on, when looking for jobs...and guess what? I've never even wound up getting a job that required drug testing. So all those years of staying clean were for absolutely nothing. I'm not a hardcore smoker and frequently take 6-12 month breaks due to getting bored with it, but I really hate having to stay clean due to reasons other than my own personal choice. Also I think drug testing is basically a violation of the 4th amendment.
oh god cry me a river you big baby
As someone who's been in the trades working on building and restoring houses for the past 30 years I've tried to encourage my kids to try to find a better career because it's hard on your body the pay is bad. I love my job and working on homes but my body is so broken down and i have barely been able to scrape by and i want better for my kids and there future. I didn't go to college for 4 to 10 years but i have been perfecting my skills and learning new ones my whole career. We deserve better.
Im a fellow construction worker and I hear ya. A lot of these people wanna sell the idea that construction is all great but I agree pay sucks working conditions suck and the body takes a beating. Cant blame the younger generation for saying no thanks.
I want to know what country your in.
Im a fully qualified caravan repair man. In Australia
Run my own sole trade business
And make $90 an hour + gst + markup on parts ect
@Phantom Phox I'm in autobody (collision) I'm 30 and my body is already broken
Just another reason for automation of the trades. Imagine doing your job from a computer and watching a machine build a home. It is the best way to bring blue collar into a white collar world
@@LIFEwithBAVAN no. Jesus the amount of arrogance and stupidity in that statement
The issue is all the certifications, classes, and licenses that theyre requiring for everything now. Way back when I started welding they said “lets see what you can do” then by the end of the day it was “Good work, youre hired, see you tomorrow.” Now you have to have certificates, prior work experience, your own tools and truck ready to go, and be willing to work for crap wages for the first 6-18 months. Licensing is the biggest Ponzi scheme the crooks in the government ever came up with, next to property and income tax.
Licensing if you think about it is stupid, you need permission from the government to do something? Same with patenting
@@conradmbugua9098 If you're in the US, the government doesn't license welders. Licenses and certifications are done through private entities who use licenses and certifications to verify professionals have taken standardized training and testing covering a range of subjects. Other employers want you to be licensed/certified to have proper verification that you have received standardized training and testing.
If you're talking about nuclear certification and the like, government jobs require you to be nuclear certified through a private institution so they don't have Joe Blow over on the crack corner laying porous stitch welds around the housing for the turbine. And the government requires private certification because there's no law specifying proper qualifications or standards. And I'm not entirely convinced giving that kind of authority to a bunch of rich people who won't be harmed by their decisions and have never welded two pieces together is a good idea. I'd much rather a private institution dependent on handing off reliable, qualified workers making these kinds of decisions. Fuck, I don't even trust many engineers' decisions, to be honest.
And you have to depend upon those you’re going to compete with to get your license. No one is going to vouch for you because they don’t want another competitor. It’s a huge racket.
Yep. I got all the req licenses and still get paid like the guys that dont have any. The state made these requirements and doesn't enforce the companies to follow them. Every yr i take continuing ed classes and pay money to renew my license but im starting to question why bc the employers dont care.
I've been in the trades for 25 years. At 17 when I started building houses a foreman in his mid 40's told me personally that I needed to learn absolutely everything I could about this job because the day is coming when nobody wants to do this anymore. That day is here. After my generation retires in 20-25 years, we're screwed.
It’s not so much that no one wants to do it, it’s more that the current perception is that if you didn’t make it into university you “failed.” This puts a negative connotation on the trades and is tied to the whole “college” vs. “university” debate because “community” college is what every other country calls “college.”
@@KRYMauL I dont think its just that. its also the path into trades isnt that easy if you dont know someone. No one wants to train anyone. No one has any patience.
@@JM-gu7jx This is absolutely true. Honestly, this is less an issue of young people not wanting to do trades, and more an issue of tradesmen not wanting to train others to do their job out of fear that the trainee could be just as competent as they are (given some time) and then they'll personally be out of a job.
@@JM-gu7jx This is a problem everywhere because Boomers would rather die then loose their pensions, in contrast no company offers Millennials pensions. But you know Millennials are lazy and only work for money.
Soory man
21 year old here. I got into machining as a hobby gunsmith in the last 3ish years. I am completely self taught. I would love to get seriously into the trades but for me personally I look through jobs and they all require minimum 2 years of experience with some even demanding 5 years. Also the fact that you have to buy all your own gear and tools is a huge barrier for entry for many highschool students. Great video just my thoughts.
My problem with the trades right now is that most of my pay would go to maintenance of my equipment, and I wasn't getting paid enough to do that and save. It was a hard choice every week, and not every kid has parents that will help them, which was the only way I was able to even afford to get into metal working and construction.
Sacrifices…trust me construction work isn’t the first choice option for silver spoon Timmy
thats where im at right now, had to take up extra side hustles to keep up, nevermind keeping up with the price of life in general
@@romanengelbrecht6717 If you stick with it. Even when it sucks. When you hate it. Feel under appreciated or under paid. Stay. The. Course. Learn. Be an asset to everyone around you, and I promise when you’re extremely skilled and confident in what you can do, the success comes. The money comes. Just keep going and risk it all
That’s why I’m proud to be part of a union where they pay for all my tools
@@BrickmasterinKy thanks appreciate the advice
23 year old here. Personally I grew up idolizing my grandfather who was the kind of man who didnt mind getting his hands dirty. From building a shed, fixing pipes, growing your own garden or doing mechanical maintenance, I felt at a younger age that these are things a man should learn. Sadly school didnt provide any classes or lessons for these kinds of things, nor the lack of any great mentors to help us young guys learn.
Don't follow in his footsteps... Society won't respect you, and won't pay you... All they'll do is cheer on burning down your life's work for some criminal who chose to die by the sword, and tell you you're a shit husband and father who deserved to be cheated on for spending all your time at work providing for them and literally building the modern world. I wasted far too much of my life... You don't have to.
Modern feminism has destroyed these traits men used to have.
@@ez-g3090 no lazy men did.
@@sparksmcgee6641 no. At a very young age boys are taught that masculine traits are toxic. Do some research.
The government and corpos don't want us to know these things because it would make us less dependent on them. The blame also in part lies on our fathers for not teaching us.
I retired last year. I was in construction all my life. It wore me out. If you are young and looking for work in that field, who you know is more important than what you know. Lack of skill is the biggest roadblock. I had inside help, it was a family trade. I grew up into it. If you have friends in construction, hit them up and get them to put a word in for you. If it is a big job and they are short handed, it could be your way in.
Buddie of mine was working in Austin in 97. I drove there and rented a room in the front of a dog kennel and worked for free. Never said a word once the contractor let me work for free. We were at lunch on a tile day and the boss found out that there was only 2 tiles tossed from bad cuts. He hired me because 5+ was typical for that amount. $2-30 a tile in the trash adds up quick.
I was a Carpenter for 25 years, much of that time running my own remodeling business. I started pushing a wheelbarrow in Maine and apprenticed with some of the finest furniture Makers, boat builders and carpenters in the country. I became exceeding skilled. Despite a stack of letters of recommendations I always felt chiseled and under appreciated. I honestly felt like folks looks down on people that worked hard despite our skill and work ethic. I found myself increasingly undercut by illegal labor too. So in 2002, 20 years ago I hung up my hammer and started a web based business. My body was abused from all the years of backbreaking labor. I was ready for a change and didn’t look back. When I do occasionally pull out my tools and skills people still think it should be for free. So I rarely do…..
isnt that the truth.
had a neighbor move in a few months ago, old lady totally out of her element. city folk moving up to the mountains, completely unaware of living in the wilderness, a bear breaks into her shed.
So she phones and asks if i can replace the door.
Give her a cheap quote on building a new door at $300.
She says, 'i was thinking more like 150...'
not a chance am i got to put up with some of these people, especially some whacko who thinks my good graces of helping a neighbor is worthy of me paying to repair their home for them.
Worked as a BMW tech for 4 weeks at two different dealerships. Never met ruder people in my life. I come from a trade focused family too. I went into engineering and am doing alright. I think the trades need a way to flush the low lives out.
That flat rate system is out dated like no one's business but that's what dealership want and get so I left the car business. The pay is low tools are super expensive no wonder the younger generation seek no to be part of it.
I work for a BMW dealership one day a week fixing their interiors. This checks out.
As a master hvac and master plumber I’ve given thought to doing my own carpentry because it’s hard to find a decent honest builder. Doesn’t hurt that I enjoy carpentry, it’s a change of pace and gets the brain working.
Are you located in lane county Or by any chance?
well said. no kizzy
I get it. I bet you can't stand hiring workers to do a job in your home.
I like to do my own work when I can because not all contractors hire skillful careful workers. If you're not on them like a bird dog , they fk the job up at your expense ( ugly quality ).
@@ummmkay1744 I know what you’re saying and yes sometimes there are some guys who are master license holders and really can’t do one or the other. I’ve been doing this for over 16 years. I’ve been on the job learning every aspect of the plumbing and hvac trades that I could under other masters plus taking opportunities to learn when new tech comes out. I’m not perfect by any means but I guarantee quality and demand it from my apprentices and co workers. Some guys take an open book test and pass to get a license where as I’m the guy people seem to call who have worked under me because they can’t trust their direct superiors to answer questions.
@@ummmkay1744 yeah sounds like you’re in a bad area. I was lucky to have a company pay me to learn. From the start it was about earning hours to apply for journeyman test. My first field supervisor was a hard ass about cleanliness and would ream us out of installs weren’t on par. Again I’m not perfect but I can say for sure that I’m better than the hacks you’re basically talking about. Hacks don’t go to training and don’t want to improve their skills let alone their life. Nothing makes me more furious than having to fix someone else’s shoddy work because the investor / home owner decided to go cheap to save a buck.
You mentioned that Home Depot donated money towards the trades. When I worked there for 10 years, one of the things that really went over big one Saturday a month was the Kids' Workshops. The kids would show up with their parents and would build a project each month out of wood. They got to use basic tools and took their projects home at the end of the class. The kids loved it and it spurred a lot of them on to interest in woodworking/carpentry when they got older.
I think a disproportionate number of those kids will become DIY builders. Maybe not building homes but maybe tables, patios and shelving.. It used to be very expensive to get decent tools but that's not really true anymore.
My kid loved that program.
Dude I was just thinking why not Home Depot having a kids section where they sell construction toys, radio controlled toys like the ones you see in the video, even tool belts and kid books where it shows how to build simple structures even popsicle structures and crafts to take home. I know most places do like walmart but who else to have the better quality/same priced version than hardware stores. Would be GREAT.
@@Daemien21 Canadian tire sells kids versions of most of their tools
@@ummmkay1744 literally all the time. Like u said, a box of screws, a sheet of plywood, a hinge, a switch, sure not when building a house but basic renos absolutely
My issue with the trades is the way new people get treated. Grown adults get told they know nothing, they are bad at what they do, and they have to be a slave to learn how to do things without being shown how, and instead heavily criticized and mocked for making even simple mistakes. Most people who go into a trade are already somewhat experienced, and have a fondness or passion for it. Like with carpentry and woodworking, it might run in the family. There is no need to assume that the newbie is some child who can't hold a hammer properly. It is the most infuriating thing to be told how to hold a hammer when you are 27 years old, before you even get the chance to show you know how to. And you can't stand up for yourself. I get the, "oh, so you're a know-it-all now. I don't need to help you with anything, then Right?" And foolishly this would also include heavy lifting that no amount of skill will aid anyone in, but only more strength. "you're so smart, figure out how to lift that pallet of cinderblocks" The people with "experience" are always the most arrogant, unreasonable people when they talk to the newbies. Why would anyone want to experience this? Has new technology been released? Don't even mention it. The way they did it 75 years ago is the only way to do it. His dad showed him, and he has been doing it for 12312312124384873245665 years now. So shut it.
I'm a red seal carpenter and I'm looking to switch jobs. The reason I'm willing to leave the trades behind is the working conditions and the toll it takes on the body. The wages are okay but every other trade makes more than carpenters and people still wonder why the trades but especially carpentry is dying.
It’s a sad state of affairs for carpenters in particular, gustabo. I lived through it as well 😪
I've been trying to understand this issue for decades. The decline in skilled trades seems to me to be across the board.
I'm more on the cabinetry side, although my original shopfitting job involved carpentry, joinery, polishing and pretty much a small element of most finishing trades.
I learnt later in life that it's not smart to do something because you can, rather more important to specialize in something. This maximises our profitability but makes it difficult to put our hand to other things we can do because there is always someone else specializing in the thing you're diverging into and to be ethical about it it's difficult to charge double the fee that the specialist does. And you really do need to at least double it to allow for the extra time you need if you're tooled up properly for the job. You can ruin your reputation if you charge too much too.
This is the mechanism for the modern predicament as best I can tell... Imagine a cabinet maker of old. Everything he does is by hand and passed down through the generations. The drawers are dovetailed and set on wooden slides. Even many hinges are either made by hand or from a basic limited source.
Now as yourself how much would you need to manufacture a typical Blum concealed hinge. In a Australia one of those soft close little beauties will set you back maybe $3.00.
If on the other hand you were asked to manufacture one of them from scratch my best guess would be that it would cost multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars(possibly millions) to get your production to a point where you make just one.
I'm putting it out there that while innovation has in many ways made us collectively much richer it's also hidden where we have become poverty stricken.
I mean how many people can afford to pay a professional to innovate?
If you think about that for any length of time it begins to keep you up at night.
I think free enterprise has kept us from collapsing under the weight of socialist changes to our governance.
Sorry to bring politics into it but I think it is part of the equation. I suspect we would all be much richer if government intervention wasn't messing with the goalposts.
That needs to be clarified. Here in Australia a friend of mine works for a government agency that looks after problematic people in our society. One of his clients is a mid life woman with a few emotional issues. Her budget for assistance exceeds $300,000.00 per year.
Seriously, there's enough money just there to look after 7 or 8 people without them ever needing to work again. This is only the tip of the iceberg with regards to the nature of public spending though.
You and I in the private sector are propping this all up. God knows if we can do it for much longer...
@@grantfrith9589 I thought you said, "my original shoplifting job!" I'm like... oh, this guy must be from San Francisco! Glad I re-read what you wrote!
@@atlanteum Yes, you're not the only one to make that mistake. It's a good job but extremely long hours.
You get a lot of experience working as many different materials as you can think of. I miss it but it's given me plenty of skills for the experience.
@@grantfrith9589 I've been stuck behind a computer doing animation and VFX forever, but I also removed and installed my own windows when I bought my place, built a trellis-covered deck in the back yard and have a garage full of DeWalt and Rigid tools. Digital is fine for what it is, but nothing beats the hands-on approach -
I honestly think it boils down to two things number one is wages, where I live most first year apprentices make less than they would working at service job or working at a warehouse.
And on the other end companies don't want to hire starters. Bids are so tight these day that they don't want to invest in training new people.
I agree on the wages, I make over $60k a year moving boxes in a DC. I'd rather drive truck and equipment or build houses but nothing local pays more than $20/hour. Plus I live 15 mins from my job and only work 4 days, I would not want to give up my 3 days off. If I worked all the available OT I could push it over $75k a year, no local trade job would come close to that unless I was high on the ladder.
At least in my area I think this is one of the biggest barriers to entry. I'm an electrician. In my experience it takes at least 6 months to train a completely green helper up to a skill level that they don't cost you money every day they're on the job (even if they're a go-getter). It's difficult to justify paying a good starting wage when that just means they cost you even more money during the training period.
That being said, why would any young person start in my trade (that works out in the elements and usually has a greater chance of injury) for 12 bucks an hour, when they can go to Walmart or McDonald's and start at 15? While there's a greater opportunity in a trade compared to those other jobs, most people aren't that farsighted
Story of my life.
You hit that nail like Larry Haun
How much do you expect to make with zero knowledge? I start my guys at $20 a hour. An apprentice plumber can get their license in 5 years.... if a kid is smart he can be making $100k a year at 23 and get on the job training with no debt. Stop your lies... you're just uninformed or lazy.
Can't believe I spent so many years thinking trades were the way to go.
I went into a niche trade about 4 months ago. (2nd Trade based job that I have worked)All I can say is that, there are very few good trade based companies out there. Companies that treat the employee/s with respect and good starting pay.
Out of all the jobs I had, I was never more disrespected for not knowing this particular field even though I applied for an entry level apprentice to basically LEARN!
Until there is more professionalism in the trades, I will tell every young person to avoid them.
yes
Was a carpenter building houses for years. Personally I was getting paid garbage but doing all the exact same work that others were doing. Usually my work was better because I didn't take the shortcuts and just did things right the first time.had all my own equipment and never called out. 3 years of this and I was given a raise! Went from 9/hr to 9.50/hr. I quit the second my boss told me that. For context he was paying the others 17/hr.
Good on you I would've done the same. Companies now a days don't really care about quality or loyalty smh
Terrible, next employer tell em you need 200$ an hour
Same here
that's why I got out after 20+ years, have a nice desk job with better pay, benefits and flexibility. They need to pay way more than they are now or the trades are doomed. I teach my kids the skills but encourage them to look for different employment.
lmao i knew a painter that did this years ago.
his boss told him he was getting a raise of a dollar an hour.
His Reply:
'first of all, that raise is an insult and secondly....' as he dropped the spraygun on the floor and walked out the front door. 😂
Maybe I can add something to the discussion with my personal experience. I hadn't ever worked a trade until I was in my late 20s, but I was really sick of working in an office and my dad was doing house painting at the time and had more work than he could handle alone, so I helped him out. We worked as painters for this company for about 4 years before they found some people willing to work for $5/hr cash and abruptly fired us. A few years later I got a job working construction as a general laborer and carpentry apprentice. Everyone I encountered was a huge asshole to me and to basically any person who hadn't worked trades their whole lives. Seriously, everyone I met was so bitter and hated everyone. They hated people who made less money than them because they considered them too lazy to work a trade, and they also hated everyone who made more money than them becaise they don't work as hard as us so why should they make so much money. I also thought there would be less politics and bullshit, frankly I was hoping working with other grown men doing mens' work would be less full of bullshit. But these construction workers are honestly the cattiest, most back-biting group of people I've ever met. They are more gossipy and bitchu than a group of high school mean girls. I got promised a raise after probation, then was strung along for a while with no raise until I quit after a little less than a year. I found out that was the company's MO, they just hire new people and tell them there is a raise after probation, then they work them Into the ground and get them to quit. So yeah. I think there are a lot of problems with getting people into trades. It would really help if tradespeople would understand that someone who is new needs to time to learn things, so maybe have some patience and don't treat people who haven't been working trades consistently since age 18 like pieces of shit. Also the complete lack of job security kind of sucks.
Never experienced anything like what you posted in 25 of construction work. If you got "fired" from a single contractor you were 1099 workers that didn't have an actual business but wanted the money right now and not the benefits that come with being an employee. If you lost a single contractor and you had a company you'd just fill the gap working another job. Look in the mirror, you're the guy that went to work with those cattie bitches every day.
The thing is, it may never change. The trades tend to attract people who can't go to college or who hate school. These kinds of people see educated people lauded in society while they perform essential operations, but operations that it is not that difficult to teach people (seriously, these people almost certainly shit on surgeons, engineers, lawyers, etc but have NO IDEA how much more difficult the training for those professions is than theirs).
For this reason, they end up with a chip on their shoulders, and take it out on everyone around them. Usually, newbies are the easiest targets. So they haze them, or in some cases outright abuse them. It is often part of the culture they come up in, too. They are the type of dudes who will conflate toxic masculinity (hazing, screaming at each other, being verbally and physically abusive to one another) with regular mascinity (having good control over your emotions, enduring hardship and persisting, being a provider to those you care about), and as such will equate anyone who has a problem with their shitty behavior with being a "cuck" or "soy boy."
Until the culture of those who run the trades changes, this will never change.
@@Lupostehgreat hahahahah your physic analysis of all construction workers describes no one I've ever met in 25yr of construction work. No one goes to work to spend their day thinking of surgeons. And I don't think you know the level of training it takes to build a building. Doctors school is about the same amount of schooling as an architect. So if you do outliers to outliers not much difference except construction workers make more at the top than doctors at the top.
@@sparksmcgee6641 no, I am well aware. Just like every fuck with a chip on your shoulder, you condescend to people with more advanced degrees. For people who are always going on about the fucking money you make, you sure all obsess over how "difficult" you find the schooling that y'all go through.
I literally don't believe you that these behaviors are not present in the trades and the culture around them; I not only have buddies that work in them, but the sheer weight of all the comments on this thread prove that even though YOU don't think it is present, it very much is.
Lastly, an architect is also a fucking college-educated professional, so I have no idea what the comparison is supposed to be there, but unless you are researching architecture and getting a PhD, Architects do not go to school as long as surgeons. On top of that, you apparently don't know how long a surgeon's residency after med school is. This can be anywhere from 3 to 7 years essentially apprenticing under master surgeons. That would be 4 years in undergrad, 4 years in med school, plus 3 to 7 in residency before they take their boards.
But as I said, this is all a comparison of college-educated professions to college-educated professions. I KNOW the kind of fucking morons in HVAC school. It's NOT EVERY PERSON THERE, but there are a lot of them. Med School and Grad School standards tend to weed out the fucking morons and lazy assholes pretty fast. But knowing you, you'll tell me those programs are filled with idiots and you know x number of stupid people who are doctors or whatever because one time a Dr told you that your blood pressure was too high or whatever fucking shit. I've seen this 1000x before. Get over yourself.
@@Lupostehgreat No my education time was accurate. I've dated doctors and architects. And your rant making up lies about me as if that has any effect on the world show what kind of person you are. Comments on the internet mean nothing to the real world. I hear a bunch of whiners mostly on comments because they couldn't do the job. Different vetting and only low level small companies have bad culture. As you hear on these comments there is a massive shortage of construction workers so how do all of these hazing companies keep employees when there are 4 other companies on the same job that are all hiring?
Your lie about me hating people with whatever education shows what a loser you really are. I have hundreds if not thousands of people I've worked with at the executive level, in a room full of them I make a point to say I'm a high school drop out to remind them of the people they're missing out on in there businesses. Fortune 100 CEO's and a Billionaire with a Family office are normal people for me to interact with.
I'm just enjoying the show as people like you whine when you have to pay a punk kid more than you make to fix or build anything.
Looking for roofing laborers right now, they can make 80-100k first year as a go getter. if they move to sales in a couple years or a couple months mid six figures is normal.
Talking to a 22 year old mother of two right now, 5'6" and 130lb. Shingle pallets are craned onto roofs now so all she has to do is move a bundle at a time.
Oh and starting your second year at our company we offer housing benefits.
Meaning we will build you a house of your own. Every 24 months you can get $250k tax free from the sale of a house.
So with that kind of money what construction worker is staying at any company like the ones haters describe? Everyone in the industry knows, people with addiction issues or mental issues.
I'm not a carpenter but i built a shed last week, my kids wanted to help around and watched me build it almost the whole time. They really are interested by how stuff works and how you can take a pile of lumber and end up with a structure.
So i think you're right with the kids being interested in those things.
nearly 100% of skilled trade employers pay the same wage you make at restaurants. why would i work a high stress job that pays the same as dishwashing?
congrats man that must have been a great experience for everyone.
When i was in middle school Wood Shop was the most popular class! This was early 90's
1. Lack of training for back-breaking work
2. Lack of pay for back-breaking work
3. Lack of interest of back-breaking work
A lot of trade related jobs have TOXIC work environments. Trades imo attract some of the nastiest people around. I worked many jobs where my co workers would literally only talk about drugs, alcohol, racism, degrading women etc. and they are so arrogant and don’t want to teach you anything. This happened to me plenty of times, I’d ask they needed help or ask for work and they’d fly me off and be like “oh go ask someone else” so I’d spend the day cleaning and not learning. It’s so hard to come across decent people and I don’t like all the negative people in the trades.
My youngest son is taking auto shop and construction this year. He wants to learn only for his own interest, not as a career. There definitely is a different culture in the trades to get used to if you didn't come from such a family.
I was going to say, there just isn't a good view on trades these days. They have to work long hours doing jobs that are tough on their bodies for an average salary. I enjoy doing trades work as a hobby. It is not an appealing work environment.
Former tradesman here, dual ticketed - yup, it sucks. Not everyone is like the guy on TH-cam making videos. Working in an office now, it's a good life. I do labour on my own time for jobs that I like doing.
Your so right man, 9 time out of 10 they are a bunch of assholes. That's why I got out of the trades.
Yep. Lots of abuse to people. Lots of druggies and weird people
I’m traded. Unwilling to teach, fights, and overall just miserable people to be around. Glad I got out. I love working and learning on my own time to fix my own shit, all without the toxic setting of the trades.
The root problem is the educational system...
I think that’s defiant at the heart of it, Erwin. But I think the proliferation of technology plays a large part too. We just don’t focus on as many tangible things as we used to 😕
@@TheHonestCarpenter i agree..
no the problem is the money. Show me the money.
@@erwinaddison2030 it’s the pay, I can work at fast food, postal companies, or any warehouse job and make the same pay as a fourth year apprentice in my first year, doing way less work
@@BetterThanYesterday69 exactly!!!
As a youth this hits home. I'm glad my father was handy and taught me himself how to work with wood and tools. Now that I'm older I'm seeing the importance of such skills and now need to buy my own set of tools.
This will be the next shortage; tools, and real world applied skills.
I agree with a lot of points you make here, and as a teacher, I constantly push students towards trade jobs. The number on issue they telll me they left was because of bullying, harassment and intimidation. The trade has a culture problem, and until that is addressed, don't expect students to beat down the door.
I'm almost 30 and grew up watching Dirty Jobs with my dad. My dad worked in IT and now I do too. I was always told that I HAD to go to college by my dad and that I didn't have any other choice. So I didn't know any better. Eventually after graduating college I realized I don't like what I do for a living and that I would probably enjoy being an electrician more, which is what my grandpa did. Now being almost 30, and successful and established in my career, but hating what I do, I'm thinking I might make a change in the coming years to work in the trades.
Look at automation and controls. It’s a hybrid of IT and electrical work.
It will be much easier to transition into, and it pays very well. See automation engineer, for commercial HVAC or Plant automations.
Don't see why you couldn't dip your toe in working evenings and weekends. If you don't have your license yet I'm sure there are still electrical shops in need of help until you get one, they may even pay for you to train and test. You can shift from part-time to full-time to open your own business. The REALITY RENOVISION channel has been talking up how even handyman side-hustles are in-demand markets right now prime for opportunity.
Mechatronics is a decent field
I'm 41 and in the same predicament... Do IT work and loathe it. Way happier whenever I'm doing handy work
@@mustangmatt1987 Same, I like my IT career but like doing handiwork & working on my cars more. Started doing odd jobs and IT work on the side a few years ago for myself. I later inherited a house flipping businessfrom my dad and would love to make that be my full time thing, but for now IT pays the bills and is putting a bunch of kids through college. ;)
I used to work in the trades after high school and recently started college. There's a couple reasons why young people don't enter or stay in the trades. One is either douche bag foreman and journeymen that disrespect their apprentices and often mistreat them. Usually their excuse is to "toughen them up". The young tradesmen rather choose to leave than to stay in a toxic work environment with coworkers that constantly disrespect them. Another reason is not having connections. Getting into the trades has become of who you know and not what you know. You can be an eager kid willing to learn a skill but it's not easy getting in unless you know someone already that's in the trades. I've always wanted to do both construction and engineering which is why I started college.
most welding jobs pay 18 an hour. that is the offer im handed, unless is 15 an hour.
panda express hired me to wash dishes for 18 an hour.
the bottom line is money. if i can make that same amount with less work why wouldnt i.
how pathetic is it that kitchen work pays the same as skilled trade.
@@selfactualizer2099 true but the thing is as a starting welder your pay will grow as you get more experience, plus it's badass. Can't say the same for being a cook in fast food.
instead of saying young people don't enter trades because of a "toxic work environment" just say you're a bitch. These environments make a man out of you and that's the truth. After a while you realize that they aren't toxic they are just preparing you for life. Shit talking and harassing isn't toxic it makes males bond and allows us to be brutally honest with each other so we don't get our fuckin panties in a bunch over dumbass shit. Speaking of panties' in a bunch yours are probably gonna be all fucked up because i called you a bitch. Get over it. bitch.
@@selfactualizer2099 Not true at all unless you are near a shipyard. The south has welders starting from 12-15 i don’t know why people act like all of the US is the same or these listings can’t be seen in seconds.
Generally you start around $12-16 which is a lot for the south with the sell being unlimited mandatory overtime. People getting out of school instantly making $18 or 6 figures is by no mens common or a guarantee. Who you know is more important than anything and we need to stop lying to young adults as if hard work trumps networking, it does not.
As a caveat my numbers are pre-pandemic . None of the seasoned welders in shops i worked in made that much outside of a shipyard without experience nor connections.
@@edward1937 after 3 or 5 years in most jobs you get to around 27$ an hour (average)
And it's still not worth it. Again, I can get much more money in that same amount of time getting a better job.
Fact is I actually went to college for welding, my welds are extremely consistent.
The pay for welders has even stagnate for almost a couple decades.
I'm not joking, this average pay has not changed in years to reflect inflation.
Welders are actually worth MUCH more than that, especially if you manufacture parts.
I was making frames for Kubota welders, each one selling for 14k. I had to make 8 a day.
Did my pay reflect that? (Even accounting for the cost of materials, quality control, and shipping, all of the people involved were making chump change for those parts.
And I was the one actually putting them together. Following very complicated blueprints.
This is the same rhyme at all the other jobs.
Sure welding is fun,
Until you realize you're a number. Expected to meet max quotas no matter what. In georgia you'll actually be threatened to be fired if you don't work overtime. (Right to fire state)
And again, the pay should have scaled over the years, but it hasn't changed in a long long time.
I actually knew my boss personally, I mean the guy who was running the warehouse, from corporate, way above the manager,
Dude was making a metric ton of money off of us, his role was to just keep an eye on operations.
Everything you've said was "well its just enough money to live, and welding is fun!"
Listen boy I got a family to worry about. Trade work is ran by boomers who don't want to pay a modern wage.
I'm furthering my education in a more freelance direction (actually, I'm studying to be a fitness trainer and nutritionist)
Because I'm smart enough to know I better be paid what I'm worth.
Now all these welding jobs and all these warehouses have nearly identical complaints.
"We need young guys to replace the soon to be retired guys"
"Young guys no matter how good of a welder you are you'll get paid the bare minimum because you are not old"
"Young guys keep leaving to get other jobs"
Rinse and repeat. The same complaints from all these welding jobs.
If you can't see the issue, be my guest, continue working a SKILLED trade for restaurant wages like an absolute wimp.
I truly believe that early exposure to the trades is paramount to changing the perception of trade workers.
My father was a contractor, so in many ways I had a tremendous advantage in learning the trade at a very early age. Plus I showed a lot of interest in building things at a very young age. At 7 or 8 yrs old. I remember going to work with my dad on a saturday morning. I'd haul 2x4s, he would make me hold the other end of the chalk line on the mark so he could snap the lines on the floor. He showed me how to read blueprints. I took all that for granted as I got older. And although I always wanted to be a builder, my parents discouraged me from doing it, and sent me away to college. I got an engineering degree.. But, I always worked with my father summers and weekends. I worked in the engineering field for a few years out of college but I really didn't like it much. I ended up starting my own business at the age of 24, building and remodeling. I already knew the trade from years of working with my dad. I've been doing it ever since.
I'm a 58 year old career carpenter, looking at retiring sooner than later. I made great money when I started in this career in the mid eighties. The pay has remained relatively stagnant for decades. You'd think that the shortage would increase wages but that sadly is not the case. This is a tough business that requires a tough constitution to do day in and day out. I no longer frame houses, although I have all the skills required to do it very well...my body can't do it anymore. There are no replacements for guys like me that are ready to retire. I've seen many people in the comments here complaining about the rough and tough nature of the carpenters ,"towards a beginner". I did experience a little of that in my early years. But I think what "the beginners" don't understand is that a willingness to work is what is required and respected in this trade. Learning comes after the work ethic is established. They all want to be black belts before they learn how to haul the wood and clean the job site. I've never shied away from doing the laborers job, but whose gonna lead the crew and doing the planning and laying out if I'm doing the labor job. If someone wants to enter the trade, they have to understand that it is work, and a lot of times it's very hard work. I'll show someone that's willing to learn, but a lot of this requires a basic understanding of math, geometry and manual dexterity. Unfortunately, these simple things seem to be missing in our education system these days. I don't want to discourage anyone from doing it, but if you're afraid of hard work, you aint gonna make it. I can tell you that you'll never ever need a gym membership, or have to go on a diet if you work this trade. I'm 58 yrs old and I have the body of a 30 yr old , but I got some hard mileage on that baby.
Well said man, been doing electrical for 5 years and i surely agree about not needed a gym membership!
I'm doing what equates to around $300 a day doing sub contractor work in the graphics/exhibition trade , building stands installing prints and vinyls etc all at age 22 off of the back of going through severely life threatening cancer and living with permanent nerve damage and fibromyalgia as the result of chemotherapy, I had done two years and graduated fully as a site carpenter before doing this, can the attitude towards beignners stink, absolutely but I whole heartedly agree the issue in alot of cases is that people my age fail at this and get shit from more experienced tradesmen is an ineptitude to learn, arrogance and self entitlement, it is real hard work, I had gone gym years prior but it's a different kind of strength, I had done snowboarding recently for the first time with my girlfriend and other very fit people and after 7.5 hours I had little to no fatigue meanwhile their legs and hips were in pieces, this really does build up muscular endurance and tests you mentally severely. I've been in my position for only just over a year now and I've already done plenty of 100+ hour weeks and yet I always hear people my age complaining about being overworked doing 50 hours at a desk job, trades truth be told are dying because young people are being pigeon holded into academia and simply lack the work ethic due to being pan handled too much so of course older people get frustrated with this ESPECIALLY when they're being arrogant le jumping ahead. To all young people, the money is waiting for you, the trades are simply waiting for your hard work. It's rewarding and will make you a better person. That's my rant anyway, wish all of you a great day/life, love from the UK ❤️🇬🇧
All the people with any degree of proficiency in mathematics get pushed straight towards college sadly
@@jacobg7966 And then they get out of college with $300,000 in college loans, and get a $40,000/yr job. Makes perfect sense to me.
No, I think that work ethic is what's lacking. Kids haven't been taught the value of working for what they want and need. Instead, mom and dad, give them whatever they want without even asking them to do chores around the house for an allowance. Not all households are like that, but most are, particularly in urban/suburban households. When I grew up, kids needed to get a job out of high school or go to college. Now, most just stay home and mooch off of their parents. It's the parents fault. I hate to speak in generalizations, but this is what I see going on.
@@marcellemay7721 That's more or less how it goes, and people my age are so hyper focussed on this idea of having higher thought or morality despite having no skin in the game they haven't paid tax or really contributed to anything other than their Twitter wall, I don't even use social media anymore at all, just TH-cam and WhatsApp but young people and their entrepreneurial obsessions and politics is a whole nother discussion. The UK specifically I can't speak for America, there is a tremendous exhaustive labor vacuum, there's schemes now to go through the education system straight into a firm to work I remember on their open days legit no a single person was interested but me, my first year I had 17 classmates by my second year there was 6 of us, 5 passed trade school out of 17 and now only me and one other works in a trade , even with those offers available being offered £50,000 starting salaries and being paid to go to college rather than the opposite they won't do it because it's "beneath them" or too hard. it's unfortunateley an old people's game, I did farmborough airshow this year in the summer and I was the youngest person at 22 out of maybe 5000 men, and my dad who got on that job with me joked that he felt young, apparently the labor demand was so harsh they had to pull alot of people in who was retired and it showed. So much experience but their bodies were just so clearly past the point of obeying, they have so much to teach and pass on and learn and yet no one my age is willing. You can easily get in at £27.50 an hour here right now, straight out of school and the hours are there as many as you can handle, I'm 22 and in my best month I made just over 10,000 doing 100+ hours a week working in Hanover Germany and Paris France and all over London to all that are listening please come to trades, listen and learn and work hard use your hands had common sense be open minded . Some people will be a cunt without any precept too and no one agrees with that, whenever someone's being harsh on you it is usually and should ever only be for your own good. Stay humble, there's always something to learn and as long as you do that it'll be hard but you'll pull through and it's an amazing rewarding career that can take you around the world and teach you so many tricks and really push you to build things you didn't think capable , and be part of what keeps the world going. Your mental health will thank you, if you're burned out give a trade a go , if you have a relativel or friend who does site work, ask if there's ever an opportunity to tag along as a labourer for the day , just help out see how it works, or do a workshop or a taster at a school, there are assholes everywhere for the most part in trades there's alot of love between the banta. Without the work force the world will truly fall. Exhibitions, Carpentry, Civil Engineering , painter and decorator it doesn't matter we are all a team on the building site ❤️🇬🇧
I worked as an instructor for the local "trade" school (it is actually a community college) that had a partnership with the public high schools. We taught building and construction and wood working to high school students since there were no other teachers that were qualified to so. As you mentioned in the video, wood shop classes in public schools have all but disappeared.
When we started at that school, the shop was used as a storage room for broken golf carts and riding mowers. All of the tools were neglected and were either already broken or not safe to use. After a year of cleaning and purchasing new tools/equipment, the shop looked like a shop. In the beginning, student interest was low - only 4 classes with an average of 15 students each. Within 2 years, that all changed. Classes were at capacity, with all 6 classes @ 28 students each. We actually needed to turn away students for safety concerns. Unfortunately, because only a small number them matriculated to the college (at least for carpentry) the partnership was dissolved as the college pulled the funding. 18 of us, instructors and faculty lost our jobs. I thought it was a good program and we definitely filled a gap in the schools offerings, but as with most things, it all came down to money. It was my most fulfilling job I've ever had.
As someone who went through a trade school, it was difficult to find anyone who would hire me without treating me like I was in demolition instead of a electrician and the hazing is ridiculous. Everyone is miserable and bring their personal problems to work. Surround by alcoholics and drug abusers. It blows because I did enjoy the work just not the environment. Maybe I’ll try again someday.
Flip side, it's easier to outperform your competition when they're drunks.
@@gaiterat6187 Show up on time, don't be drunk and have a good attitude and you will be ahead of 95% of apprentices and people in the trades today.
Probably one of your best videos to date. As a water plant operator for several towns and villages (as well as a woodwork hobbyist), I’ve noticed the trades are truly dying. Just spoke to my 12 y/o about the trades and how it may be more beneficial to pick one up for his future. I know looking for a valued worker in my profession is hard to find, and I’ve benefited in my joy for woodworking to make some serious extra cash. So much that I was planning on leaving my cushy job to dive into my passion. As I’ve said, finding skilled laborers is difficult and my job has pretty much bent over backwards to keep me on. So I tell anyone out there that as long as you know a trade and hustle, you can pretty much make as much money as you are willing to devote your time to. Keep up the great videos and applaud you on a great subject.
Thank you, Peter! I hope your son gives it a shot in the future. As you said, it just opens up so many doors for a young person.🙂
Not only bodies are missing but pride in craftsmanship is disappearing and it's breaking my heart. Union Electrician 25 years in the field.
No one gives a damn about craftsmanship they just wanna slap it in and go
Absolutely. 16 year Commercial Electrician and I’m now told to follow the (3D) “model” on the iPad for install. Who made the model? “The CAD dept.” Are they Electricians? “No.” Then why are they designing electrical systems? “That’s the spec pre-fab is made to fit.” Wait, I’M supposed to be doing this, not some CAD-F*#K in an office! That’s why everything is f’d up, twice a hard to work on as it should be and has too many bends in it. “It’s all figured out.” Obviously it’s not. Maybe CAD should come out here and show me how this is done. “That’s what you’re for.” Then don’t f’n tell me how to do my job. Then they wonder why we’re over on hours and cost 🤦🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
@@JD-bd5uu And the saddest part is that those guys earn way more than any tradesman. This whole thing completely fd up.
This year I am teaching a class called Exploration of Skilled Trades. It is a required class for all of our 8th graders. I am so excited about this class! We have so many kids who do not see college as an option for them. I'm really hoping this will help lead a bunch of kids into a skilled trades job! I'll be showing this video to them tomorrow.
That’s awesome, Kim! Good luck with the class-I hope these videos help! 🙂
This was a great video! I’m a retired journeyman toolmaker/machine tool builder and it’s a shame what’s happening in our country with the trades. I always made an above average living and never had any student debt. It always boggles my mind that somehow working with your hands is demeaning. You also have to use a lot of brain power to build things and to repair those things when they break. The trades have job security. You can’t outsource getting your home built, getting your car fixed, have you HVAC system installed or repaired. I wish you the best in this endeavor!!
im on your side but the DIY mini splits, the ones that can be installed yourself, are a lot better than something vented installed by a pro, and a mere fraction of the price
I spent my whole youth from unskilled job to unskilled job. I'm now 40 and an apprentice in the construction industry, and even as an apprentice it's the most fulfilling job I've ever had. Doing stuff with your hands, standing in front of something you have finished, knowing that someone is going to enjoy your work for years to come is a fantastic way to give meaning to your life.
I'm 26 and disagree. I've been welding since I was 19. I gave up my social life for a worthless check, zero respect, and it's going to shave years if not decades from my life.
If you're in the trades, run. It isn't worth it
Maybe iw is better in my country.
@@lazydesmond8240 Who's going to do the work? Be of healthier mind in doing what do and how you live your life, and do that work.
@@lazydesmond8240 It's a matter of character/personality as to your social life. Your working life is a factor, but it's not the majority thing.
@@LordBaktor Maybe it is. I'm glad you've found peace in your work. I'm glad you enjoy your trade. That's what matters you. But as for myself, I'm looking for a future. And burger king pays almost as much as an entry level welding position.
Good luck to you, I wish you the best my friend. As for me, fast food is looking better and better by the day, all for only a few dollars less than what I make now
One of your best videos to date.
Carpentry is definitely in bad shape, and more so than the other trades. Unfortunately, a lot of the fault lies with carpenters and the trade itself, especially when it comes to framing.
Over the years I have learned that some fields eat their young, while others coddle and nurture theirs. This is true for both the trades and white collar professions. The same is true in healthcare where I now work. Sadly, it has been my experience that carpenters can often fall into the former category.
I once worked on a crew for a framing subcontractor for John Weiland Homes, one of the biggest home builders in the Atlanta area. The subcontractor's company nickname was The Machine, because his crews were the fastest hands down in the entire Atlanta area.
We once framed a large house in one subdivision in 4 days while another company was framing one in the same subdivision. We left and framed a house in another subdivision. When we came back to the first subdivision they were still working on that first house. When we got done with our third one and left they were still there.
However, to be that fast and efficient was the result of some brutal working conditions. The owner's foremen were tyrannical bullies. Everything was yelled, nothing asked. Everything was expected to be known, nothing taught. Half the people on that crew when I got there were gone by the time I left (Yes, people. We had a woman on that crew). They either quit or got fired regularly. The turnover was horrendous. I saw new guys quit before lunchtime on day 1.
I once saw a foreman grab a guy's tape to measure something without asking. When the guy objected - in a rather undiplomatic way to be honest - he was fired on the spot. Rough stuff.
Aside from the work atmosphere the conditions are harder. Carpenters lift laminated beams into place by hand. They carry trusses across tall walls walking on 2x4 top plates, which is like carrying an unbalanced heavy load across a tightrope with no net. Carpenters work with no shade in the summer, and shovel snow off the site before they can work in the winter. Carpenters lose workdays to rain and/or have to work weekends to make them up.
Trades that work once the building is dried in don't have to do these things.
Carpenters are often treated as self employed, and get no benefits. They get a paycheck and that's it. No 401K, no insurance, no vacation days. Plus they are responsible for 100% of their own income and FICA taxes.
I know other construction trades can have it rough. Electricians, plumbers, and HVAC for example have to crawl around in hot or cold tight spaces or slither through wet slime. Often times cussing the framers who left them no space to install and work in. 😉
But, most of them are trained in a real school. Most work for companies that apprentice them, advance them, and give them benefits. Most importantly they all make more than carpenters.
Yeah, I know there are highly skilled master carpenters and trim carpenters who make some good money within their niche, but that's not true for the average framer.
The truth of the matter is that on the construction trade totem pole carpenters along with roofers and drywallers are at the bottom. In carpentry there's usually only one guy on the job site making any real money. The boss.
It's kind of ironic really. Because if there are no carpenters no one else works.
MagiusUSA. You speak the truth man! And so many others in these comments are echoing the same thoughts. Bottom line, manual labor jobs don't pay enough, break your body down, often require more capital investment to be successful (example reliable work vehicle that can haul, tools, hard work clothing reinvestment), require dealing with the elements, and often have a hard work environment in general. So I sort of don't understand why The Honest Carpenter doesn't understand why no one wants to go into the trades today. And the statistic that the younger generations don't have anything against manual labor isn't the whole picture. It's not just manual labor. It's manual labor on a scale that often breaks your body down and doesn't have any sympathy for not getting the job done due to difficult conditions. It ain't no office job lol!
Same experiences. Facilities maintenance, i guess it is not considered a trade to many but i really enjoyed keeping Schools functioning at top efficiency and constant cross training kept it interesting.
Many friends in various trades and they have same complaints you mention.
The culture of near complete ignorance in anything other than the work was depressing and sexism and racism where a constant. I wouldn't let the vast majority of these people near my daughter let alone in my house knowing what they are really like. I have nothing but respect for the skills but nothing but contempt for the "culture".
It is NOT a political thing it is a freaking being a decent human being thing.
@@peterjefferson3963 Well I don't disagree that there is some less then desirable culture in many trades environments. However when I've dealt with it I've basically just done my best to promote changing the culture. Of course in order to do that you have to have the respect of the older generations. And imo the best way to get that is with your work ethic. But alas there will be generational differences that can't be overcome. Older generations were brought up differently and when your in their world so to speak you kinda got to adapt until you've got the influence and your generation is controlling things and then you can shape the working environment to suit your generations idea of what the work place environment should be. Not saying it's easy but interacting with people in the work place is part of life and the better you are at adapting and your ability to deal with people's differences the farther you'll go in the working world no matter what job or career you are in.
@@duncdunc76 well I'm not a kid I'm walking on 50 and I've been at this for a long time I have the work ethic of twice the average person it has nothing to do with my skills and getting along with other people. I'm known for bridging gaps and bringing people together and leading successful teams. I find many people of the older generation to be quite disingenuousness and duplicitous you try to meet them halfway but then they move the goal post I don't know man it just seems endemic to American culture my friends in Germany, poland and friends from Chile are not like that. That's what my 30 years of experience in the midwest has taught me.
@@peterjefferson3963 Well I'm certianly not going to disagree with the notion that the American culture of today has got a lot of looking out for #1 at the expense of so many others. The greed is rampant in so much of business today. And I'll agree that a large portion of it is coming from the older generations of business owners that just continue to exploit their work forces to no end. I know all to well what it's like to be a team player and be taken advantage of by the ones in the industry that are Greedy and Shady. After a good 25 years of work experience under my belt I've finally figured out how to work for myself and provide a fair deal in all my business dealings. And if I happen to deal with someone that doesn't operate on those parameters I just don't do business with them again. I'll admit though, you will not become wealthy living that way in todays business world imo. Seems like the wealthy today are mostly about the exploitation of workers and customers. If that's what it takes to become wealthy then I'll just continue to live my modest life. As I'm certianly not going to exploit others to gain wealth.
The problem is nobody wants to work 50-60 a week for 12-13$ in modern era economy. The pay is shitty, the requirements are brutal and by the time you retire (if you even can retire with that amount of money, most likely you're gonna feint and die on the site lol) you won't probably be able to even walk bcs your whole body is gonna be fucked bcs of all the hard labor you did for 30+ years.
I tried to get into construction and was pushed out of my first gig because I wasn’t willing to subject myself to the hazing from my former or co-workers and foreman. That whole experience was a nightmare. I went to a really bad place mentally for a long time after that. I thought I would never find something I was good at or could earn a decent living. Then I decided to go back to school for IT. The terrible experience I had in construction convinced me to try my hand and something I always wanted to do. Now I have a great job working in Technology that pays better than that crappy construction gig. Thank’s construction for convincing me to do something better with my life!
My issue with construction and specifically rough carpentry is that I didn't have a solid mentor. I could pick things up here and there from a few different people but mostly had to piece it together myself. And there were a few guys that get a kick out of putting others down. They won't teach you anything because they are just rotten individuals that unfortunately you have to deal with at every company in my experience.
Thats what its like being a greenhorn. Obviously you didn't have the hide for it. The industry is prob better off. All tradesmen get the greenhorn hazing, as did I.
A little ribbing and hazing is part of growing up. You need thicker skin.
They weeded you out. Construction sucks on many levels and requires servitude to do the work. You wouldn’t have lasted without the hazing.
@@redneckgoatfarmer it's just a job. being the reason it's shit doesn't make you a good person.
The simple solution is the construction industry needs to pay more, working out in the elements whether it be the cold of winter or the heat in the summer gets pretty rough and in a lot of areas contractors pay less than grocery stores and fast food restaurants. I try to show my son as much as I can about the trades and yes this guy makes the point that we need to make them appear more appealing to the youth…
You mean people don't want to work in -30 degree weather (literally) for only 10-20% above min wage (literally) ? No way
@@bobbyhillthuglife All the contractors use the excuse oh well Burger King won’t give you 40 hours a week when they will… I know what I’m worth so all these contractors say oh will start you at $16 an hour and move you up from there basically means you’ll work a year and maybe make it to 18. I had this guy I was working for last year only because he was local and I have a 1 year old son and then he started wanting me to travel three hours there and three hours back from a job site without pay and I said the hell with this and got hired by a place that was four hours away and they paid for my trip,hotel and paid me Perdiem etc. The sad thing was is the contractor Who wanted me to travel six hours a day without pay had guys that were willing to do it, and have been with him for years. I showed him the labor laws which say any travel that’s part of an employees duty outside of their commute they must be compensated for.
All are agreed that someone else should do something about it.
Excellent. Anything that encourages young people to develop practical skills is essential these days. My wife and I train students who want to become physicians and it is shocking how weak most of them are at organizing the space immediately in front of them. Wood and metal shop should be mandatory for everyone in high school, not only as a way to attract people to the trades, but also to make potential physicians, scientists, engineers, etc. connect their heads to their hands.
Great point, Peter! I think physical applications confuse or frustrate a lot of kids these days. Basic shop classes could go a long way towards getting them started on tangible problem solving. 👍
@@TheHonestCarpenter what’s up with this other comment here using your profile pic and being all over your videos?
I see a lot of this in my day to day. I work in an office during the day but I go to night school for welding in ohio and the lacking of welders has gotten so bad that at least 4 companies have covered our tuition to insentivise us to continue with the program. You know when privates are stepping in to flip the bill that things are getting bad.
37 years ago I moved to Southern California looking for work. I wanted to get into construction but they only hired people who had a car, which I didn't have and was far from being able to afford. I was used to hard work and long hours but they wouldn't even give me a shot. I ended up taking an unskilled factory job, starting along the college route, and eventually earning a science PhD. from a top university. I'd have rather learned a trade but they wouldn't give me a chance.
This has been my experience as well. Applied to several unions that never got back to me or job sites would tell me they didn’t need anybody or I needed like 1k-2k minimum in pro equipment for them to want to give me a shot. Other jobs had just gave me a shot tbh
the trades in kali are horribly run with an IRON FIST by the unions, here in my Country, you DONT need to know someone, DONT need to be "allowed" to test, aaannd so on.
Having a vehicle in the trades is critical, I've yet to see one that didn't ask if you had one.
Job locations change all the time, public transportation isn't going to get you close to many or most of them if it even exists in the area you work.
For years I'd leave my house by 5:30 to get to job sites, quite often living out of cheap hotels. A vehicle that's reliable and can carry the required tools is a absolute must in the trades. Can't blame them for not hiring you because you had no way of getting to the jobs. That makes you a unreliable employ. Even if you get lucky and have a coworker living close that can give you a ride, what happens when you're on different jobs fifty miles apart? You're not going to work and the company has to find another person to fill your spot meaning the no longer need you.
I think you proved his point. Entry into the trades is really hard, and that’s a problem if you want more people doing the work.
@@clyd3fr0g he didn't prove his point. He didn't have a vehicle which means he didn't have a way to get to work. That's got nothing to do with the trades, that's almost every job I've had, they ask if you have reliable transportation. It's on him not them in this case.
I was a software programming student for two years and almost finished my associates. I switched over to welding which I dont regret. Sitting at a desk looking at a computer the whole day is too painful for me. Plus there are way too many students to compete with for jobs in IT when companys like Microsoft also bring in people from out of country. I live around the Seattle Area.
I was a software developer for 7 years. Made great money but was miserable. I am about to get my plumbing license and love going to work everyday and look forward to opening my own shop down the road.
@@brandonwilson2624 why were you miserable?
I want to move from software developer to trades school… any recommendations!
@@sharma1337 I went to a technical college. I was able to just transfer over to their welding program.
WTF are you doing, prole? Trying to find a fulfilling career? Fuck that and fuck you for trying it! I, Mr.BillionaireAssholeFace, will make either a bot or a poor foreigner do that job twice as efficiently for a fraction of the cost. Now, get back in your BeepBoop Cage and compete with the other Cageys in making _me_ more money or else your ass is out on the street with nothing!
40 years in the trade and I agree with what you are saying. There is more than the difficulty of getting proper training to access the trades their is a demographic issue with over 600,000 more people retiring than youths entering the work force. If there is a labor shortage and young workers are able to (more easily) pick their career, why would they pick a lower wage, with no job security, poor benefits, and dangerous.
after high school, I went to trade school for electrical and when I got out all the companies wanted to pay minimum wage or close to it. It's hard to live off of minimum wage, let alone start buying tools and pay off your student loans making that much
@Jaycja ...and their in lies the problem.
it's not worth it considering how LOW the low end wages are. fuck em
let em suffer
@tradcathsspxit’s really sad.
@tradcathsspx illegal immigrants have droven our wages down.
Hey Ethan. As someone who loved wood and metal shop in high school, but failed to find a career in the trades, I have experience with this topic. One topic I think should be discussed, but is just as complicated to solve as others you've mentioned here, is the culture in these industries. As a 17-19-year-old male, I was incredibly disheartened at how cold, rude, and downright aggressive most of the other men were, in my experience. I can understand the challenge of bringing on young employees and having expectations unmet, but there's no good excuse for poor communication skills from managers, foremen, and what should be mentors. Additionally, and maybe related, in the several years I spent in the trades and mostly since, I see few women in the trades. This is despite knowing how interested some are in building, fixing, and designing. I chose to pursue business and technology as my profession and experienced far fewer of these two issues. I hope you can address these topics in future videos and/or publications if you find them relevant. Thank you, and keep up the fantastic work.
The work is rough, and the culture is unforgiving. Why would women get into this trade, unless they were brought up in the family?
Trades are missing out on 50% of the population .womenunlimitedns.ca/images/uploads/WorkingItOut.pdf
As a teenager I worked as a Carpenter with my Father. Well apprentice lets say. I truly loved the job and thought I had found my thing. Our primary focus was Finish work and, more than anything, I found that building stairs and then making them look as perfect as possible clicked with me on some deep level. So, I was really all set to become a carpenter and had a plan for Trade School, then a job with local contractors, eventually I'd start my own company with a focus on residential and commercial trim/finish work. Somewhere along the way I found that I really loved science too. Trade School became College and then Grad School. I traded local contractors for Bio-Tech startups and university labs. I became a staff scientist instead of a contractor. I am proud of the work I have done as a scientist and the future scientists I have trained and mentored. But.....Over the years I have fixed and made things, always knowing that doing that fulfilled me in a way that science never has. We bought a house and now I have projects and a shop and plans to remodel and maybe even add on. And the thing is, I find more peace and more fulfillment doing all of that stuff than I have ever found as a scientist. Sure, it is amazing to be the first to know something, see something, prove something. But, framing a wall or hanging a door or building a tool box is better somehow and I am left wondering, "Did I make the wrong choice?" Sure, my knees think science was the way to go but if I could talk to the me of 20 years ago I think I'd tell him that Carpentry was the way to go. Also, dump all the money you can into Apple, Amazon, and when it first pops up this thing called BitCoin but sale when it hits about 50K.
I worked as a carpenter for the lions share of my life and worked at a scaffolding company for a while in my early twenties. I remember working with a guy named Jim who was maybe twenty years my senior and had a great sense of humor but wished he had chosen another line of work. Jim and I were erecting scaffolding for a large building when a young boy on the sidewalk below asked Jim how he got way up there? Jim's response: "I made a big mistake!"
I worked a trade for about 25 years now. A big part of why I liked my trade for so long as it was kind of unregulated. I got my certification a long time ago and time and experience gradually lifted me to where I am. Being an older and experienced guy this doesn't affect me much, but I see the next generation as being over regulated and required to jump though so many more hoops that it just drives a lot of them away.
A huge part of trades while I was coming up is it was mostly people that couldn't do the college thing. Either because of the money or because high education just isn't something that fits with them well. But now most of these kids have to go to trade schools to even get hired. Then they have to jump though 100 different training programs to get certified. Then they have to jump though those hoops annually to remain certified. It has become over regulated and over saturated with what I call education vultures looking to score bucks from companies to pass along pieces of paper that say what they already knew, Mike can use a wrench. Mike can turn on the compressor. Mike understands how to walk up and down the stairs.
I agree .. I was a certified master plumber in Texas for several years and had to be "re-certified" every year. It was a ridiculous money making scam. I no longer live in Texas but I believe that they finally ended that requirement.
YES!!... I've been in the plumbing trade for 45 years, since the age of 16, over regulation is a thing, useless pieces of paper from people with useless "college degrees" finding work for themselves.
My Granddaughter made me proud, she was an excellent student, went to 1 year of college and decided it wasn't for her. She starts welding classes in 3 weeks.
That’s great to hear, David! 😄
Carpentry and workshop classes were my favorite in school, but five years in the trades was enough for me to pursue a new career.
Yep. I got 5 years in and im done with it already. Too frustrating to get ahead and learn new skills. Gonna try to start some kind of business instead
I have been an apartment dweller most of my life and recently, I acquired a 100 year house and I've found it quite overwhelming. However, with lots of time and youtube support I've found myself able to tackle plumbing, electrical, carpentry, concrete, and a bit of hvac at a supplementary level. Is everything up to code on the work I've done and at the professional level? Probably not. Would I have been able to do any of this without the transparency of youtube professionals in the field? Absolutely not. Not only is the amount of money to hire people house not financially feasible for many, the job itself is not feasible without the information. It is quite possible that with this new age, that in order to maintain these houses, each home owner will have to become an everyman as trades dry up. If the trades do dry up, transparency of information, both in accessibility, clarity, and honesty may be one of the few things that will hold the world together.
The path for me to become a appreciate lineman was extremely expensive and difficult... and the union consistently kicks people out for failing class work, etc... good hard working guys removed from the IBEW apprenticeship because they fail a exam once. It's a joke and I'm seriously considering getting out, I'm so tired of the stress and gatekeepers that exist within my trade.
Screw IBEW (which stands for I Barely Even Work). There’s more available jobs in non-lineman electrical work and you don’t have the crazy heights to contend with. The union does that on purpose, keeping their numbers slim, to justify their high pay.
I try to tell as many young men as I can to consider trades, more companies should offer benefits and consider a higher hourly pay. Hard to get apprentices or even drive interest when they can make the same amount stocking shelves. Doesn’t help the economy is in the dumps.
I agree you can thank Joe Biden and the Democrats for the inflation and high gas prices. All this happening on THEIR watch. Remember this when you vote people.
I only try to tell young guys to join if it's union (worker). If it's not don't even consider it. I myself went non union and regretted it when I found out that my friends who were in their trade with the same experience as me had benefits, a pension, and about $20 more an hour than me. Never go non union if you want to become a worker. If you want to sub contract than non union is good but you will probably not be able to pay your workers a good wage or offer anything you yourself would want.
@@DaOriginalMurdah You’re not wrong at all. Hard to disagree.
The government should provide benefits. Business should pay better. That said, we have enough homes. We just have too many people owning an excess of property
@@veganpotterthevegan true true true.
Thanks for pointing out this important issue. One critical change that's occurred over recent decades is the diminishing support for unions in this country. This is also a perception problem, mainly driven by political interests.
I worked the building trades and kitchens for 20 years, and all I ever got out of it was bad knees, callouses, and extreme poverty. When it costs tens or even hundreds of thousands in tools, licensing, insurance, and truck payments just to become a contractor, and when contractors are paying sub contractors substandard wages, how and why would anyone enter the industry? The entire US labor industry is broken, and has been for as long as I've been working.
Being a Tradesman is not something to be ashamed of but in fact something to be Proud of.
I was always very proud to be a carpenter, Tam!
Sister(?) aint nobody shamed round here.... SFMF
I tell youngsters to avoid college and go into the trades. They can't offshore the trades - not yet...
Not knocking engineers but they do not build buildings & skyscrapers & bridges. Carpenters, steelworkers, plumbers, electricians & other trades did.
@@seanhiscock so true.. at my workplace with no formal training, I'm finding the bugs in CNC programs that my engineer came up with. Hands on is something they'll rarely do.
When I graduated in 2006 I had no idea what the “trades” were. If I would have had a mentor of some sort teach me about carpentry or electrical work my career would have been very different. My office job today provide very well for my family, but I feel alive when I work with my hands in my off time.
As a 22 year old carpenter it’s weird how few workers there are my age and I believe trades work is some of the most important jobs hope to see more people my age!
Im a comp sci graduate. I wish i went into a trade but dont really feel like doing a career shift at 30.
At least you have job security
Facts I currently work as an electrician but I'm switching to trucking because there's so few coworkers who get how I talk. Also the micro management from the 60 year old journeyman is actively holding back my productive capacity just to milk hours. There needs to be a fundamental change in how the licensing process works.
Ha! My name is Jacob too and I’m 22 and currently in an apprenticeship to be an electrician.
publish on amazon
I am a residential HVAC Technician. The biggest issue I found, at least for my area, is that no one wants to pay for your skills. How are new guys, who are not teenagers living at home, supposed to just accept multiple years of low to mediocre wages, drop thousands of dollars on tools and night classes, AND provide for their family?
The short version of my experience was dropping 7k my first year between classes and tools, making mediocre to low wages for the first two years despite working my heart out off the clock to learn, being stabbed in the back by my first boss for respectfully informing him I would be looking elsewhere despite staying almost two months after to help him through a rough time in his company before I left, and being lowballed by every HVAC company I applied at.
I ended up pivoting into apartment maintenance because they paid a lot more for HVAC skills compared to actual HVAC companies. I love HVAC but I am having a hard time with the HVAC companies. I am just feeling discouraged, and I know I am not alone on this. Something needs to change, or these issues we see in the industry are only the tip of the iceberg.
Hey there!
How’s it been going?