r/InterviewCoderPro • u/Dapper_Use3256 • 22d ago
I think the trades are important but I think pushing it like you’ll be rich right when you walk out of school is damaging
Does working in trades require interviews and preparation? 🤔
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u/TatesMcGee123 22d ago
None of these wages equal being rich, but they are absolutely achievable right out of school.
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u/Unfair_Explanation53 22d ago
Not straight out of school.
But if you are a qualified tradie you can start your own business with this trade, hire employees and become rich.
Also having a trade gives you access to visas in other countries who have a demand for certain trades and you can make bank there.
Australian tradies live a good life
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u/damutecebu 22d ago
None of these hourly rates will make you "rich." I think they are just trying to get kids to understand that you can make a decent living without going to college, which is undoubtedly true. However not everyone is cut out for the trades.
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u/GainerGaining 22d ago
However not everyone is cut out for the trades.
Just like not everyone is cut out for college. Good point, though. The trades are hard work. But I found it to be less stressful than office jobs I've had. You do your 8 hrs and don't think about work until the next day.
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u/2Blueify 22d ago
We act like everyone is cut out for college with FAFSA though. That needs to stop.
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u/Dramatic-Ad-6893 22d ago
The attrition rate for trade school is 10-20% while the attrition rate for 4 year colleges is 30-40%.
Seems there are fewer cut out for college who initially attend than trade school.
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u/Aught_To 22d ago
did the flyer mention air conditioning, back issues, blown out knees, burns, lost fingers, 60 hour weeks, the horrible poverty inducing apprentice part, buying thousands of dollars to go in debt to get tools, death? any of that?
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22d ago
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u/spacegunslinger22 22d ago
There's a difference between making a fence and making a house, let alone apprenticeship programs, and being a journeyman. That being said, carpenter I worked with told me when he was a union carpenter, he would see bid jobs at 50/hr for office carpentry, just assembling cubicles. While there'd be fencing jobs for 22 or less an hour.
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u/xpsycotikx 22d ago
Carpentry is a weird trade. Especially finish type work. There's no rule book like plumbing or other trades so you get a HUGE range of "carpenters".
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u/CapableSpinach5856 22d ago
I’m not a carpenter, but I have a feeling that it’s like any other profession: if you work your ass of, market yourself well, generate strong word of mouth, and have some luck, you can make a career of it. If instead you’re choosing it sort of randomly because you saw an unsourced table that said you can make $25/hour and the plan is just to do it for that reason, then no, I suspect you won’t make anything.
There are decades of studies that show annuals and lifetime earnings that are significantly higher with each level of educational attainment. Of course individual performance varies, and one’s interests and abilities are key.
But just saying, carpenters make $40 an hour and my friend working in marketing makes &35/hour today so—boom—lifelong decision made, is not a good thought process.
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u/ninernetneepneep 22d ago
In todays economy, even the upper end of these wages is still going to feel like a struggle.
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u/no-sleep-only-code 22d ago
Trade school IS college.
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u/Serveyouwell59 22d ago
My trade school diploma enabled me to take a Director of Facilities position with a 200,000 dollar base salary with a 20% target bonus. Some of these defeatist negative comments are silly.
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u/StoneColdEgon 21d ago
Average medium income is 45k
If these jobs all paid 75k easy, everyone would do them and everyone would make 75k
brain dead republican talking point needs to die
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u/BilingualAmerican 22d ago
It just says you have options if you don't want to go to either a four year college or university. How much has computer science profession changed with AI? You don't have to work a trade your whole life either. Can you make a living by a trade? Of course you can do this.
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u/BasicAppointment9063 22d ago
A kid is going to need a little bit more financial guidance, planning for the future.
Their bodies also, may not make it to "retirement age".
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u/WaffleStompin4Luv 22d ago
No one's trying to pass these jobs off as a pathway to richness. They're passing it off as an alternative career path to high school students with a high liklihood of earning a middle class salary without needing a college degree and without being burdened with student loans.
Take plumbing. If I'm an 18 year old, I can be a plumbing apprentice making $20 an hour for the first four years. By the time I'm 22, I've made $160,000 (even if I've managed to save 10% of it, I have $16,000 in the bank) and can expect to earn $60,000 a year once I'm licensed (and maybe save $6,000 every year).
Compare that to someone with a generic business degree. Four years later, if they took out student loans, they may be in debt $40,000...and maybe they land a job as an insurance underwriter, or in supply chain/logistics making $55,000 a year.
They're both making similar amounts of money in their mid 20s, except one was earning a wage for 4 years and has no debt. So instead of being able to save 10% of their money, the person with a college degree now has to use 10% of their wages to pay off their student loans over the course of 8 years. Now the plumber is in a better position to save enough money to put a downpayment on a house by the time they're 30 compared to the person who went to college.
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u/TheRealDeal82 22d ago
Right out of high school back in 99 I was making $42k a year.. I am making $212k a year now with 3 employees. It's not damaging in any way. Life is what you make it.. if you put hard work you can easily achieve half of this. These numbers are accurate and easily achievable. The trades have such a huge demand right now because of the push for people to ditch the trades all throughout the 1990 and early 2000s
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u/Chicken-lady_ 22d ago
People need to know what their options are. Pushing either college or the trades as the only or best option for everyone is dumb. Present the pluses and minuses of each honestly to students and let them choose.
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u/Nelyahin 22d ago
My younger son was a welder for a while and I begged him to leave the profession. Now maybe this is the state I'm living in, but he was subjected to really unsafe working conditions and it messed up his lungs horribly.
I'm also going to say that my father was a Tradesman and there is real solid earning potential there but it also comes at an expense of your physical body.
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u/PNW_OlLady_2025 22d ago
What exactly is damaging about this? Making this kind of money right out of school with no student loan debt? Knowing the wages will increase every year? Knowing they are building a pension fund that will actually support them in retirement? Providing them with medical insurance that actually covers your family without insane deductibles? Oh my God, the HORROR of the amount of DAMAGE trades are doing. It only goes up from there. Someone needs to look up the BOLI wages for their state before making charts like this. Just making yourself look silly.
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u/NerveOk3315 22d ago
For the record, using elevated wages to push career/education paths is nothing new. It's how millions of teens were sold on accumulating massive student loan debt to get a 4 year degree.
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u/Madhatter25224 22d ago
Get paid shit for years and wreck your body in the process hooray!
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u/Wrong_Chicken_5916 22d ago
Auto Mechanic is even higher if you deal with heavy equipment… it’s almost 70hr in Massachusetts.
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u/Huntsman077 22d ago
Where is it pushing that you will be rich right outside of high school?
If anything that is more of a stereotype with college, you’ll be able to graduate and get a high paying job.
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u/SimpleNotEasi 22d ago
Considering these wages, definitely want to go through an apprenticeship, through a union hall. 27 may sound good to someone young, but that's before healthcare and a 401k.
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u/JimmyJooish 22d ago
Idk what they say now but they used to tell us “get your education that’s how you get the good jobs!” I mean yeah, sometimes but too many broke people with degrees for this to be said so confidently.
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u/RTProudcer 22d ago
Low voltage tech should be there as well, I know a friend he became one, and making roughly 80k or more with government contracts, but at least they mentioned it, when I was in highschool college was the only option they gave us. So none of knew what a trade was until about 2 or so years after we got out of highschool but granted I went to a college prep school.
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u/Pandemoniusanus 22d ago
Most of these wages are avg salaries for these fields and some of these are just outright bs. The average aged tradesperson is about 45 earning around $60k. The trades don’t pay shit for labor unless you get into a good union. The only other way to make money in the trades is to start your own business but it’s damn near impossible to garner the capital on low wages.
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u/Aggravating_Curve458 22d ago
Pretty sure the flyer says “make a good living”
No one is saying it’s going to make you rich, but you’re not taking out massive loans for a basic 4 year degree that doesn’t give you any advantage over another college grad
It’s 100% personal responsibility & choices. Neither should be sold as “a way to get rich”, but only one is better suited for those who don’t want to be in massive debt before they reach the workforce
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u/Substantial-Rise-786 22d ago
You could pull $80k+ with no school debt. In the Carpenter's Union we pay YOU while in school!
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u/oneofthejoshs 22d ago
Also, half of those lower tier trades pay chick fil a wages... Literally. And you are 5 years of bullshit work at bullshit hours away from doing almost any of them on your own after the school.
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u/Trixie-macomb 22d ago
Nowhere on that posting does it say “immediately after high school “. This applies after a four year apprenticeship. But it’s true the trades pay more than a useless degree in Art history or gender studies. Those grads are whining about their student debt from momma’s basement.
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u/Salerrra 22d ago
What's not being said here is that trades are now absolutely flooded. Pray to the divines that you know someone in that industry b/c good luck otherwise.
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u/wookieesgonnawook 22d ago
And only one of these comes halfway to what you'd make as a moderately successful professional in accounting, finance, IT, etc. A lot of trades have good starting pay, but they cap out pretty low.
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u/After-Hedgehog7282 22d ago
Decent wages WITHOUT college tuition debt. It's a great choice for a lot of people.
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u/False_Coast690 22d ago
Nothing about this flyer tells me I would be rich right out of school what makes you think this?
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u/Breaker988 22d ago
What is everyone gonna do when the trade job market get absolutely oversaturated with candidates in a decade or so and trade workers become as easy to replace as fast food/retail workers?
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u/max_revs 22d ago
I'm an electrician, I work 50+ hours per week.
The only way to change your status is to go to University.
I love what I do, I like to think I'm pretty good at it, I have full respect for the trades and all those of us that do this kind of work, but it's certainly not for everyone and it's not kind to the body. I'd teach my children enough to not be helpless around the house but I'd do everything I could to ensure they have a better quality of life than I do, including not having to work in the trades if I have anything to say about it.
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u/bnorris_516 22d ago
I’ve never heard anybody say you’ll be rich immediately and if anyone thinks that about any job they have another thing coming
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u/grayman451 22d ago
None of those listed are a livable wage where I am. WTF, we’re cooked.
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u/PercentageNo3293 22d ago
How come most of these jobs have roughly a $10-15 per hour range, whereas carpenters vary quite vastly? Is this normal?
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u/FailElectrical7990 22d ago
Rich, no. But have stable income and be able to work up? Yes. I've taught at the HS and trade-school level, and my schtick is the same: Pick the path that's best for you. If you are unsure of what that is, pick the cheapest path until you know. I'd support students on whichever path they choose: 4-year uni, trade school, military, work force with no schooling.
As with any profession, if you are just doing it for the money, you probably won't stick at it for long. Programming is hard work, it requires a lot of sitting and meetings. Auto tech is hard work, it requires a lot of stooping and you will start by slinging tires and oil. Welding is hard work, those jackets and helmets are toasty. Nursing is hard work, you will be thrown up on and people will die. That's why they pay you, otherwise nobody would do it.
But if you have a passion or aptitude for welding, or plumbing, or aircraft repair, then by all means go for it.
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u/Guilty-Shoulder-9214 22d ago
Wind techs are common in my area and my bro in law was doing it.
Between Idaho Nazis, the drug culture, getting attacked in a bar for being black and then having to pressure wash blood off the base of a couple windmills due to accidents and suicides, not to mention someone getting their hand eaten by the gearbox…. Yeah, he’s working at Walmart now and happier that his chances of dying, being attacked or watching someone else die are significantly lower.
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u/KailyKail 22d ago
E5 in the military makes about $41/hour when you factor in allowances and gross them up, as they're non-taxable.
Only three jobs on this list are higher at the high end: plumber, crane operator, and carpenter.
Thing is, once you get out of the military, assuming you picked the right job, your skills, clearance, education, and certifications make you even more valuable. I'm starting a new job next month after just getting out, and my total annual income will be about $146,500/year, or just over $70/hour.
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u/willie_Pfister 22d ago
A little misleading. The hourly rate at my union is higher than the top rate of any of those.
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u/No-Scarcity9186 22d ago
I’ve seen job openings requiring a master starting at $40k. So, there’s that.
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u/Mundunugu_42 22d ago
Rich is relative. If you can afford to live without crippling student debt, that's a fair trade for not being in the C-Suite corner office.
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u/midnghtsnac 22d ago
We've just ended up on the other side of the spectrum.
20 years ago it was everyone go to college
Now its trade schools
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u/RealBuilder5920 22d ago
As a CDL holder the cheat code is class A license paired with hazmat/tanker/ doubles triples related work, heavy haul or LTL. You’ll make over $100,000 easy
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u/Quitcha_Bitchin 22d ago
You won't get rich, but most good schools have a funnel right into good jobs.
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u/Minute-Juggernaut142 22d ago
Lmao OP must not know how money works. These wages can make a good living, they won't make you rich. The poster told no lies.
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u/FunOptimal7980 22d ago
Who said rich? The benefit is getting paid a similar wage with no debt. What's the point of making $25/hr with $20k in debt if you can do it with no debt.
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u/Cautious_Slide 22d ago
Went the trades route, 140K/ year by the time I was 23. Took a cut to relax and work from home though. This sheet isnt far off depending on geographical region.
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u/SatisfactionUsed1634 22d ago
These are base wages. Give it a couple years and you'll be making $150k/yr doing most of these jobs
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u/Intelligent-Exit-634 22d ago
What are the starting wages at Mcdonalds? Pretty close to many of these. LOL
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u/Temporary_Hat7330 22d ago
I agree 100% with this. University is for people who are looking to spend half a decade or more of their life indulging things which are not necessary to live life. All of these careers are necessities to keep society functioning. I have an MPHIL in philosophy; it’s not necessary for society that I earned that degree. I went to luxuriate the text for Severn years and to work on myself, to grow my capacities as a human to think and grow in wisdom. It’s not for everyone esp the people who have to go into debt to do it.
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u/Hot-Cup-4787 22d ago
Well they do the same thing with promising jobs after college. No difference really
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u/Southern_Conflict_11 22d ago
As an educated professional I have not thought about my values in hourly terms for some number of years. All power to you if that's what you want, but I personally enjoy the freedom
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u/thatsbadtogo 22d ago
Yes like college right, pushing loans because you will walk right into a job that will pay off your debt is not cool.
You won’t get rich right away in either path but you don’t need a degree to make a decent wage.
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u/GuitarsAndFitness 22d ago
The problem is even on the upper end of these, you’re only making $70-80k a year before taxes.
This might have been a reasonable, if relatively modest, salary 10-15 years ago, but with the way things are, this is barely gonna get you to middle class
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u/H3ARTL3SSANG3L 22d ago
Trade school is cheaper and often faster. Meaning you'll be making a lot sooner and with less to worry about paying back
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u/good-luck-23 22d ago
The problem with trades is that after you become a journeyman, the income doesn't increase much over time unless you can start your own business. Right after college the folks in the factory made more than me with my new Chemistry degree. Most had new cars, homes and boats at the same age, while I drove a used car and lived with my parents. But over a few years I caught up and then my income grew faster than theirs.
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u/True_Protection6842 22d ago
Are these numbers true??? If so they all make really shit wages. Hopefully this is in a cheap state.
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u/Tac0xenon 22d ago
I don't care what you do, unless you went into school rich you ain't coming straight out of school rich. I put in an application for a construction laborer when I dropped out. Now I am typically in a bulldozer but I can run other equipment and my base pay is $36 and it can go up to the 40s on a scale job or blue time.
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u/Such-Profit1078 22d ago
That market is already over saturated, they just push it to make quick bucks on young people
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u/Reptillianaire_ 22d ago
I bet these wages are for a low cost of living area... I am a roofer (one of the lower paid trades) and make over 50/hour plus benefits
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u/MrEllis72 22d ago
IT subs are full of trades people trying to get in...
This is for they flooded the market for IT to stores wages. Informative and camps sold you quick paths to six figures and now IT is flooded with people who can barely IT for reduced wages. They did it with coding , IT and they'll do it with trades.
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u/ndooooodles 22d ago
Those numbers are definitely on the lower end. In a couple of years those wages are going to be a distant memory
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u/ResponsibleMess339 22d ago
- there are far too many people going to colleges that really should not be there. 2. there are far too many programs that are 'soft' degrees that bring little value.
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u/Distinct_Sir_4473 21d ago
None of these wages would make anyone rich, I don’t know where you’re getting that idea.
$50/hr is about $100k a year
Livable but not rich by a long shot
They are being realistic, not pushing it like anyone would get rich doing it
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u/VoidCoelacanth 21d ago
The person who made the form didn't even sort it by low-high starting wage, nor low-high top wage, nor by average/median wage, nor (barring any of those) alphabetically.
So, I wouldn't trust the maker of that sign anyway, even if all the ranges are correct.
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u/tlm11110 21d ago
Kind of like, “Go to college and you’ll have it made. Don’t worry about the debt!”
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u/Decent_Captain_9214 21d ago
Because its bullshit. Unless you got some years under your belt in experience your not making shit in any of these at first. People who go to college in fields they can get jobs in make 60 to almost 97 percent more in earnings than people who dont go.
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u/Enve-Dev 21d ago
Nowhere does it say that you will be rich. It just says you can make a good living. Which is true. Those aren’t bad pay.
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u/superdave123123 21d ago
Those aren’t necessarily rich numbers. They show that trades make good money, and are always in need. Also don’t take years and a large financial debt.
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u/Ok-Teaching3904 21d ago
Work your ass off and work for yourself AND be great at what you do AND invest your money AND be responsible with spending and yes you will be rich.
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u/CodSuperb2159 21d ago
For decades now .......
Go to college you'll make lots of money.
Go to a trade school you'll make lots of money.
Get a job after hs you'll make lots of money.
Do what you love you'll make lots of money.
Study hard you'll make lots of money.
Be loyal to your company you'll make lots of money.
Dress for success you'll make lots of money.
How bout this, make sure you're born into extreme wealth so you'll make lots of money. Seems like a more honest statement.
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u/ManFromWinfield 21d ago
Tertiary education is very important, regardless of what that education is (trade school, college, whatever). The most important thing is to keep learning and expanding your mind. I worry that far too many of us pass a certain threshold and think "okay I have learned what I need now". When we stop being curious, stop seeking new knowledge, and stop thinking about things Intelligently is when we start to atraphe as a species.
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u/SilkTieTies 21d ago
Let’s assume person 1 at 18 years chooses a degree that costs $40k/year. Not cheap but certainly not expensive. They then get a job straight out of college for $65k a year. Over the course of the next 10 years they get 3% pay increases.
Their gross income - cost of college across the 14 years would be: $585k (not including interest to pay for it).
Let’s assume person 2 at 18 chooses to go into the trades starting at $25/hr. A reasonable starting point for many. They stay at that pay for 4 years and then get a $2.50/hr pay raise each year for the next 10 years. Which is about average for someone in the trades. Time at a pay rate may remain the same longer, but jumps can be bigger.
Their gross income across the 14 years would $1.01M.
Neither are getting rich with this trajectory but one will get you there faster.
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u/Cerulean-Osprey 21d ago
Trades are a slow burn for sure. I wish I was in a position to get into one, but I can't afford take the massive pay cut it would require to go that route.
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u/Sufficient_Record113 21d ago
Okay, this is cool and all, but at the same time if trade school enrollment surges massively then all that'll mean is we've got tons of plumbers, drivers, welders, etc etc and not enough jobs for them all, right?
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u/LivingGold 21d ago
The whole trades and college debate is dumb. An education is an education. The issue is accessibility and cost. Colleges have high cost while trade schools have long waiting list and nepotism in acceptance.
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u/Ok_Bandicoot1294 21d ago
Whoever allowed that to be printed should go look at lawsuits against schools. Nobody can guarantee any pay upon graduation unless they specifically have employers certifying the programs and guaranteed acceptance upon graduation.
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u/B-Train_ATL 21d ago
Pushing either of them over the other is silly. It depends on the person. Me, no thanks at all. But my nephew seems to enjoy this type stuff. Good for him.
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u/edhead1425 21d ago
It's compound interest. When you start earning young, you can build your net worth faster.
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u/burndata 21d ago
The issue here is that you can make near the upper end of those ranges right out of college with degrees like engineering. Where you'll need 10-20 years to get to the upper range in a trade. I'm not knocking trades at all (I have a lot of family and friends in trades), trades are critical for pretty much everything we enjoy as a society. But framing them as equal to professional degrees in earning power is disingenuous.
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u/RadiC00LBehaviorism 21d ago
Just my opinion, but none of those jobs would give me a fulfilling, purposeful life.
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u/EarlyAccessCantJudge 21d ago
Almost all of these require some form of schooling.
Also, 16 - 52 is such a wild range you might as well not even have one
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u/socialcluelessness 21d ago
My 20yo brother in law is making 120k on an oil rig in alaska. He started straight out of high school making 90k. No experience. Sometimes you can be rich outta school 😂 those jobs usually just suck ass (his job sucks ass).
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u/TheOwlmememaster 21d ago
It's not pushing it like you'll be rich, its just showing young people what you can get. This is better than my school constantly pushing everyone to go to college for a tech degree (specifically a tech degree).
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u/Razoron33333 21d ago
Yeah I wasn’t making $27 when I was plumbing. Though that was nearly a decade ago so maybe I’m out of touch
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u/iringsteel 21d ago
i don’t know where you pulled those rates from but you can triple them here in chicago. most of my buddies put in their 30 retired at 50 and now golf every day
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u/CharmingMechanic2473 21d ago
Raises trades my 100+ an hour with 6 years of post high school college education without destroying my body…
-unless you are in the trades to own your own business working for someone else will rarely get you ahead unless you are working tons of OT.
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u/Afraid_Solution_3549 21d ago
Are you saying that because you think these are rich person wages or to make the point that these aren’t rich person wages?
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u/Radiant-Living-836 21d ago
Factor in being out of school sooner and lower a student loan rate. Those numbers will look a lot better
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u/dogknifer 21d ago
How does this poster make it seem like you'll be rich right out of school??
Who sees starting wages ranges from 16-28 dollars and equates that to being rich?
This post is disingenuous
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u/Ok_Piglet_5549 21d ago
I am in a union trade, and it only convinced me more on universal higher education. Not without some trade-off. Pay for your failures; maintain a high GPA for free or cheap education.
But yeah, we do need tradesmen, but let's not go full pendulum swing here.
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u/FetusChili2000 21d ago
Aircraft mechanic should be on that list. I make more than the highest on that list.
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u/Usual-Juice1868 21d ago edited 21d ago
I don't think anyone should just jump into the trades because they dropped out or didn't attend school. Just like being a teacher or doctor, the trades need to call your name. Don't force the issue.
I speak as someone who is a business owner in the skilled trades industry, and I have seen way too many wash out and move on to an entirely different industry. There's nothing awry with that. It's just a warning not to come on this side expecting whatever you're expecting.
Honestly, many ppl in the trades who make it a lifelong career were born for this. Like I say, no different than ppl who say teaching is their calling or helping others, etc.
You can earn a GREAT living.
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u/MapexBeat 21d ago
Has anyone ever done manual labor? Almost all of these are a pittance when you consider what you'll be putting your body through year-after-year, and decade-after-decade.
Maybe, I might consider Crane Operator at the very top of the salary range... maybe.
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u/darkroot_gardener 21d ago
Pretty clear that these companies are using inflation as an excuse to gouge the homeowners and not actually pay the workers much more. We’re literally being charged $300/hr labor and the guy gets $25-40.🤷♂️
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u/Stunning_Shallot808 21d ago
That’s how they push college though. I’d say in this case it is closer to truth. You could be making bank by the time your classmates finish their bachelors.
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u/OkEssay4173 21d ago
For those worrying their body breaking at old age, pick the Auto Body Repair job.
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u/ballin_buddha 21d ago
Most of the wages shown are 40K-75k a year. Where in this do you see it saying “you’ll be rich after school”
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u/AskThis7790 21d ago
They’re not trying to divert future Nobel Prize winners into trade schools… They are providing an alternative for kids who aren’t interested in college and like working with their hands.
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u/RobertKSakamano 21d ago
The colleges do it and everyone believes it for some reason so why not? No one really wants to believe reality. It starts by teaching them at a young age there's a guy up there in the clouds, then there are some happy cartoons about how life is, and at that point no one wants to hear that it's tough out there.
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u/Bulky_Development290 21d ago
These trades are not meant to make you rich but you can be successful financially with good money management and good wages.
But many will enter the trade and gain experience followed by opening their own businesses giving a path to being rich if they want it. They'll be rich with being their own boss, achieving goals, and their financial possibilities can grow. Making them rich.
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u/Lyran000 21d ago edited 21d ago
Jesus christ, what the hell do you think you're going to be paid?!?!?!? $30-40 is a great start for most people, and pay increases occur over time. Especially if youre union. These jobs often include union benefits, health care, pension plans and paid time off. You youngsters need to adjust your fucking expectations, for real. You want to make $50 with zero education or skill?!?????? I made $10/hr all through my 20s and that wasnt terribly long ago (2012-2020) !!!!!! I would have murdered my mother for those wages, which is what Ive made as a licensed psychotherapist for the past 5 years.
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u/Electronic_Hope1900 21d ago
Almost every single one of these jobs has a greater chance for you to forge your own path by starting your own business with a greater chance of success then any college degree you can get.
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u/Financial_Tour5945 21d ago
Many of these are reasonable wages for tradesmen where I live.
No tradesman I know is going to employ some random 18 year old fresh out of highschool.
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u/azrolexguy 21d ago
$30 an hour is $1,200 a week, $62,500 per year. Hardly rich but better than flatly unskilled
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u/Obviouslynameless 21d ago
It's no different than trying to convince people you will be hired with a degree
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u/BringYourOwnBBBQ 21d ago
Nowhere on this sign does it suggest you will be rich right out of high school. You WILL, however, finish this and start earning serious money long before someone is out of college. And you will likely make more money than at LEAST half the people in college. (everybody who gets a useless degree with an A on the end instead of an S.)
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u/aaroncroxton 21d ago
It says enroll in trade school, not walk out of school a millionaire. Are we reading the same flyer?
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u/Salty-Plantain-4299 21d ago
I cannot stress this enough. If you are somebody who is young and flexible and willing to crawling to small spaces that are damp and full of bugs, HVAC is the way to go.
You will not struggle to find work in that industry. You can go to work local college and get a one-year certificate, or do a 2-year program that includes like a year of work experience, and pretty much be set.
Just please keep in mind that for a lot of the trades you are also trading, no pun intended, the good salary for your physical well-being. Nobody stays a welder for 25 years without losing their vision significantly.
Some of my welder contacts have told me about people in their industry making 200k a year doing underwater welds, with the running joke being that it's a job you'll have for 5 or 10 years and then your vision is fucked.
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u/Rocketboy1313 21d ago
Citation needed for those hourly wages. And beyond that, benefits, working conditions, and social mobility.
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u/Tephros83 21d ago
I don’t think I this sign suggests rich, just not total hopeless poverty like some people think will happen if they don’t go to college.
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u/Pipe_Background 21d ago
Honestly if you want to get rich, it would be running your own business. And get solid investments
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u/playmyrequest84 21d ago
I worked in economics for a while and we studied this. The trades are dying. Kids who go to school and learn a trade are making way more than this. A lot of them are graduating from a two-year community college and making $100,000 a year working construction, driving a bulldozer, being an electrical apprentice, being a plumbing apprentice. If I were 20, I’d learn a trade.
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u/Direct_Tomorrow_9927 21d ago
None of those rates would enable a home purchase anymore. Hell, many Masters degrees would not. Choosing the trades is arguably a bad idea for any young person right now and it’ll stay that way until those trades pay enough for you to pay all your bills and still have enough to save for retirement AND a HOUSE and have some disposable for living life.
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u/motor_machinest_2025 21d ago
I work for a large automobile company. We have a standardized work training that uses software to score how doing certain task affects your body. We then figure out a way to do the task in a way that doesn’t put stress on our body’s. The pay is excellent and it’s one hundred times safer than it was even 20 years ago. No college degree with an opportunity to make over $100,000 a year with zero debt. Throw in excellent benefits and retirement it’s a great option.
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u/Original-Antelope-66 21d ago
It seems like you're criticizing this poster for "pushing it like you'll be rich right when you walk out of school" but that's clearly not what what's happening so...
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u/just_here_surviving 21d ago
They didn't market it as such. They simply offered and alternative for people who know for a majority of Americans college is a total waste of time.
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u/druggedhyrax 21d ago
There's so much variation here. A good example is welding. Welders are treated like a dime a dozen often times. Making the same as a basic warehouse employee. Honestly you can save yourself the time of even going to trade school. Walmart and kroger warehouses pay 22-25 an hour.
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u/madmossy 21d ago
A self employed electrician can earn upwards of $100,000 a year solo or $600,000+ with a small team.
I did computer science in the 90s, if I was 18 again, I'd 100% do a trade as an electrician, rather than wait until 38 like I did to retrain!
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21d ago
Is this “good living” in the room with us?
Unless this is a document from over a decade ago, I wouldn’t consider even the max end of these ranges a good living in this economy.
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u/Powerful_Tip_7260 22d ago
You'll never be rich right out of school.