Skilled Trades Viability

Just read the recent HN reponses to "The skilled trades haven't caught as a career choice [...]" [1]. Until an article addresses that, it's just wishful thinking.This article does address the push for all kids to college. Read comments at [2] as well.Very useful comments about the barriers to entry: [3].My own biggest concerns would be:1. Popular anti-union perception: bad for recruitment, and bad once you're in.2. Need to be in good financial shape by 40

Skilled trades are doing pretty well these days even in the US. Much better than a lot of college graduates. The going rate for a decent plumber/electrician/welder isn't cheap.

I think the tide started to turn on this a while ago, honestly. I remember my dad telling me how much money good machinists, plumbers, electricians made and how there's always jobs available.He pushed heavily for University, but I started getting programming jobs in high school and realized quickly the truth of supply and demand. There will always be demand and need for these types of jobs and they are not low skill at all.Since then I've heard a lot of people marveling at the ne

It's not that they should all become knowledge workers, but tradespeople too -- construction, plumbing, electricians, etc. From what I hear it is very hard to break into these fields without prior training, which you need to acquire on your own and with some other means of supporting yourself (which isn't always available). I would love to see a return to master-and-apprentice style workplace relationships.

Working as a plumber, an electrician, or a carpenter can be quite lucrative, and they are certainly things that society needs.I hear this kind of thing, but I have to say it is less than convincing when most of the people saying it don't seem to be sending their kids to trade school.

I'd like to see more brilliant minds from tech explore other industries, especially the trades. It is incredibly difficult to find competent and trustworthy tradespeople at a reasonable price today. There is so much that a former SWE could bring to the table that doesn't necessarily mean being the tradesperson themselves (though that would be great). The trades desperately need manpower on all fronts.

I confirm everything you said.My father, working as a tradesman, has more work that he can handle so I use to help him during work peaks (I've a non-STEM degree). You don't need to be a genious, only trustworthy. The problem IMO is that to be trustworthy you need to enjoy your trade and that is not exactly a personal choice (specially on the short term). Educated people are addicted to be challenged and to compete not to routinely execute stuff.The low competition on trades is a

A person of modest or lower means should probably go into the trades. Electricians aren’t getting replaced by ChatGPT anytime soon.

No.The work is hard, dirty, and you need to go through a half-decade apprenticeship program before you can even start making the big bucks (which are still nowhere near what a programmer makes.)And good luck finding someone to take you on as an apprentice.I remember one of my buddies desperately pounding the pavement to get an on-the-job apprenticeship as either a plumber or electrician. It took him a couple years to find one. 20 years later and he's a successful industrial plumber

Plumbers, HVAC technicians, Electricians - not only will they survive, they will never be outsourced to cheaper countries. And since Gen Z seems to have little interest in working with their hands, I suspect there will be an acute labor shortage in the trades that continues to drive their already high incomes, higher. As an added bonus, there is no need to all flock to the same handful of overpriced cities.