Pretty much any of the skilled trades where he gets his hands dirty. Kids just don't want to do this work. For the most part they just want to sit and work on a computer.
Unfortunately, I've got a few useless college degrees and can't offer him any advice. Have a young nephew about to graduate HS next year and is thinking of a career in the trades. Can any guys here recommend a trade you think will be around in the future and offer decent career prospects for a young person?
I&E ( instrumentation & electrical) as long as we have industry. Not sure if this classifies as a trade but, nursing. Nursing pays well, and he can pretty much work anywhere he wants to live! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
Happy to share with you what I told my kid. Told him if he didn't have a goal for the end of college it was a waste of money, and I'd rather buy him a company to work at till he learned the trade. I suggested AC, electrician, plumber. Also suggested .he consider the service, put in the full term and retire then go back to work as a contractor. I guess it worked, he became a fireman.
Be Polite , Be Professional , but have a plan to kill everybody you meet -General James Mattis United States Marine Corps
I have been in the heavy equipment mechanics business for 42 years. I have seen the equipment go from a battery and alternator to 5 or 6 computers controlling everything from engine, transmission to the hydraulics.
A young person with drive and a desire for knowledge would after learning the basics, could go to into troubleshooting the electronic problems on heavy equipment and bring home well over 100 grand a year just hooking up a laptop and repairing electrical problems. He then could go out on his own and make 200 grand easily a year with a service truck and no employees.
The nice thing about it, is his work can't be outsourced overseas and a robot can't replace him!
Industrial electrician with a cert in electronics and controls.
This. It’s needed everywhere and always. We’re always going to be using electricity, and it’s one of the most reasonable trades to go out on your own.
I’ve been in the machine trades for over 40 years now (journeyman tool and die maker.) I wouldn’t get into it today for anything, for a number of reasons.
HVAC would be my choice...and commercial at that. There isn’t a property owner/manager alive that fears anythingnmore than the dreaded calls about the temperature of a building.
Then I’d have a residential side gig...specializing in weekend and holiday emergency repairs.
Then hire the best accountant I could find to keep track of all the money....
Surveying for sure. My son is the coordinator for the survey crews on the I4 project in Orlando. He's been mentioning for years about the need for GOOD surveyors.
Wasn't long ago (1/09 to 1/17) I said I'd hate to be a young person entering the work force nowadays. Now that we have a real President the opportunities are endless IF your willing to work and do it to the best of your ability.
One that requires a license which limits supply and keeps wages high. Otherwise the wages will be decimated through uncontrolled competition from illegal labor.
I'd recommend something in healthcare.
[quote=Whiptail]
I have to agree with Whiptail on this, whatever trade he chooses, pick one that has a barrier to entry that limits folks from joining the field. Some sort of official license or certification being required.
As others mentioned, something he has an interest in too. Might be worth taking a year off interning with a couple companies for a few months so he can experience what he would be doing. Especially to get an idea of the bad (HVAC replacement in the middle of summer, for example).
If he does have aspirations for the medical field, optimologist or dentist would be great choices. Not huge amounts of schooling required, by medical standards as least. Can set your hours, great pay and work doesn’t follow you home (I work in a profession where I get hundreds of emails a day. A profession where people don’t email you requests would be my choice if I could do it again.)
If you died tomorrow, what would you have done today ...
I’ve been a machinist for 43 years and am retiring at years end. We baby boomers are rapidly leaving all the trades but seems machinists are really leaving. My company and most nation wide are struggling to find any machinists at all. Pay is good and it’s not a particularly hard job if one gets the basics in a technical college. Almost everything we have and use is in some way touched by a machinist. We make molds to mold almost all our plastic parts and all parts to nearly everything from your auto to food prep to tools and whatever you can think of. Google machinist and read what we do to the shortage. I work for a medical device factory and make parts for surgical tables, overhead lights so surgeons can see, to scrub sinks, carts and other hospital equipment.
The Machinist trade has largely gone Star Trek. 3D printing is going to be doing the bulk of metal fabrication in 10 years. It's already doing a lot of it and they're getting the machines very tuned in.
Based on my experience as a homeowner and people I've known who've gone into trades , I'd say either a plumber with some sort of certification or whatever papers separate better plumbers from the rest in whatever state he lives or works in, or an HVAC tech with similar certifications. I believe it would be worth the time and expense to get the schooling and certification in a skilled trade.
A couple of years ago I had a piece of property surveyed. Field surveying seems like a good trade for someone willing to work outside year round, who can put up with heat, cold, ticks, steep ridges, etc. Opportunities to work in both rural and developed areas. Based on what the survey cost me, it must pay pretty well.
He might be able to work for a contractor in whatever trade(s) appeal to him as a helper, gofer, or whatever to see what it's really like. If he has a strong work ethic, and is willing to learn and take on more responsibility and difficult assignments, the future will take care of itself. He has to make himself a valuable employee, because that's who a contractor or business owner will keep when business slows.
Increasing my post count so people will buy stuff from me
