"Pick up a trade" and why it's stupid advice

[soupman]

It's really hard to get an apprenticeship unless you live in Alberta...so really unless you live there or are willing to move out there and actually can, chances are trades are not for you.
.

i heard that immigration is re-doing everything to streamline the process for internationally trained tradespeople...that suggests to me that there is a need. all the LMI stuff the gov't puts out says that almost any trade is in need, at least moreso than almost any other profession that isn't regulated by a guild or similar.

edit: which isn't to say the OP is wrong, i agree with their comment. "pick up a trade" is easier said than done, and overlooks the fact that apprenticeship requires getting a job. that said, having a trade is more recession-proof than many other things which is why, i would guess, people often suggest it to ostensibly rudderless ships.

[tyreman]

i heard that immigration is re-doing everything to streamline the process for internationally trained tradespeople...that suggests to me that there is a need. all the LMI stuff the gov't puts out says that almost any trade is in need, at least moreso than almost any other profession that isn't regulated by a guild or similar.

Thats so they can get the offshore newbs to do the work for peanuts cause they will work for the equv. wage from their baliwick

[Mark77]

Mark makes some good points - the best trade to pick is engineering. The engineering trade employees a lot of people with a high mean average salary and lots of room for upward mobility.

Ummm that's not what I said at all, and only a very small percentage of the population could survive the rigour of proper engineering school in Canada. Dropout rates are typically in excess of 50-60%, and that's from the extremely small percentage of people who actually enter such programs.

I was attacking the premise that people should chase bandwagons or just blindly retrain in the absence of a massive structural shift in the economy towards a different sector.

[hvc]

Ummm that's not what I said at all, and only a very small percentage of the population could survive the rigour of proper engineering school in Canada. Dropout rates are typically in excess of 50-60%, and that's from the extremely small percentage of people who actually enter such programs.

I was attacking the premise that people should chase bandwagons or just blindly retrain in the absence of a massive structural shift in the economy towards a different sector.

Haha he isn't serious, read his other post. I actually laughed out loud.

TLDR

I agree, pick up a trade. Best way to go.

Mark makes some good points - the best trade to pick is engineering. The engineering trade employees a lot of people with a high mean average salary and lots of room for upward mobility.

[Hitman21]

Telling people to just pick up a trade is stupid advice and unrealistic. As well some of the people on RFD can be so intolerant of those who aren't as lucky to have a good job

[NutsandBolts]

Telling people to just pick up a trade is stupid advice and unrealistic. As well some of the people on RFD can be so intolerant of those who aren't as lucky to have a good job

I disagree (in part)

I gave the "get a trade" advice to a 20 year old that has half a high school diploma, works seasonally as a landscaper helper, and getting paid nuts....what else could I have suggested to him? I tryed "go to university and be a doctor" but that didn't fly.

Getting a trade is still a very good option for some people. Unemployment is a sign of times, whether trade or professional, we/you have to adapt....easier said then done, I know.

Regards

[spf1971]

I guess based upon this threads logic, telling someone to upgrade their education is stupid. If you go back to school, you have to pay for schooling and then in the end, find someone to hire you; what a stupid suggestion and waste of time. Come to think of it, all education is a waste of time; a degree on its own gives you nothing, you still have to find someone to hire you afterwards!

Telling someone to pick up a trade is a not a quick fix answer, it's a suggestion; if you can't find a job doing whatever you are doing now, try going into a trade. Yes it is still hard work and it isn't guaranteed but it can be a profitable career option. You just have to make sure you pick a trade that is in demand; just like picking any education path.

Of course this being a Syne thread, any actual work is going to be viewed as stupid. We all know that the only proper course of action is to permanently stay in school and complain.

[damnos]

When you tell some unemployed person to 'pick up a trade' what you're basically telling them is 'go find some people who will invest in your future' and 'go get a job'. It's insulting, it's small-minded, and it's arrogant because you are not volunteering to invest in someone's education and training or startup costs, you're just flippantly telling them to find someone else who will. It's literally telling an unemployed person to 'go get a job.'

....

So the next time you tell someone to get a trade, be ready to hire them for 2-5 years and give them a bank loan once they get their seal.. Otherwise stfu. You have no idea what you're talking about.

but it's still a much better advice than saying "go be a career student, leech of people who work and pay income tax"

[Dilton]

Still easier than spending 4-5 years studying english literature or something and then graduating with 25k debt and realizing you're not qualified to do anything that pays more than $10/hr.

Besides, you don't need to be a certified tradesman to work in the trades, you'll just be someone's assistant and you'll make less money. Still better than working at macdonald's.

[rocking23nf]

FYI apprentices make 50% of the journeyman rate as a 1st year, so its quite a bit more then miminum wage.

When i was apprenticing as an electrician 5 years ago, the journeyman rate was 33 bucks an hour. Its probably 38-40 an hour by now.

Plus that goes to 60% 70% and 80% after each year of schooling.

Plus you get 1000$ grant and EI while you are in school.

[tyreman]

well they don't make that in the non union of the trades
You must mean union

[rocking23nf]

well they don't make that in the non union of the trades
You must mean union

I was never in a union.

And pay between companies was pretty much identical for journeymen.

[NutsandBolts]

FYI apprentices make 50% of the journeyman rate as a 1st year, so its quite a bit more then miminum wage.

Journeymen make between $20 and $30 an hour in my parts, so the 50% = $10 to $15 an hour is realistic considering minimum wage is $9.85. Union construction jobs are better paid but I don't really know excactly how much so I would rather not guess.

The real payoff is when you have a couple years under your belt and you have enough tools in your box to demand and receive the $25 to $40 an hour in the "better jobs" before your arms fall off

Regards

[tyreman]

Gas techs with ac. getting maxed at $18-$26 at average joe shops
Union shops more but more non union in Ontario.

[gotrice]

you dont have to own your own business to make good money. a license plumber makes at least 40$ an hour. and a first year makes 12$-15$