Mike Rowe: Champion of the Trades!

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Agree. Most people have gotten so dumbed down that I dont think they could even do a quality trade job if their life depended upon it.

Now, at the same time, there is the same discrepancy as the other side. I know personally a number of tradespeople who bring in $2-300k/yr. Union shop tradespeople who I have to deal with have burdened hourly rates of $70-90/hr. There are lots of people with high levels of education and knowledge who dont do this well.

So that argument is likely to arise again...
 
I know of people with degrees that work in the shop because of the better money also. I understand that Rowe actually was/is a singer? Is that true or was somebody just jerking my rope?
 
I grew up in Hawaii as a kid and never knew my Grandfather on my Dad's side. When we moved to Seattle when I was 11 I had never connected with my Grandfather.
I wish I could turn back time, and could have found a way to learn things from him. He knew how to do electrical, plumbing, AC, mechanics etc. It's one of my biggest regrets.

I feel we need to value the trades because they support the infrastructure of society.
 
Sure there are lots of jobs out there where someone needs a skilled trade, the only problem is they are not willing to pay for someone with skill. In today's world everyone thinks if your out of work, you will take a $7.50 an hour job and perform $40 worth of work.Now the reality check. A mortgage Payment or rent can cost upwards of $1100a month.That may be low for some areas,but when you have to figure in the other costs of life here in the good Ol US of A like,kids, gas, food, clothes,car payments, insurance, and the ever popular lack of any benefits provided by employers,I can see why everyone isn't taking advantage of low paying jobs.I'm a union member who has been out of work for over two years,but let me say for the record when guys say union guys aren't worth there pay.They are very uninformed. I've never received pay for sick days, holidays, personal days, vacation days,if I didn't show up for whatever reason, I didn't get paid.How many people with long term jobs have had to pee in a cup as a term of employment? or had to give up personal information, as a term of employment? Or was told they would have to shave their beard or get a haircut, or else they couldn't work on certain jobs? When work is available we get compensated for what we do.I'd like to see how alot of people would respond when they are told their being laid off a couple of times a year,but for us it's how it is. No crying about what am I going to do, how am I gong to pay my bills. When your paid what your worth , you have money to bank for rainy days.Mike Rowe is right about the country needing skilled tradesmen,but in today's world if that job doesn't have a keyboard with a function that can unclog a toilet, were all in deep manure.,,
 
I like Mike Rowe too. TBH, if my college degree fails to get me a decent job, I'm welcome to start my I-CAR training/certification at the local community college or join Toyota's T-TEN program.

It's sad that high school is too focused on getting kids into college when some aren't college material or won't go to a university. I feel we need to give kids in high school someway to explore their choices and bolster those programs at the community college level.
 
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Good speech by Mike Rowe. Watched the full 8 minutes. It made me reflect that I'm lucky to have a job that blends the theoretical with the practical, both are valued. We have a guy like Mike Rowe's grandfather on the crew, he's a pleasure to work with.

Yeah, I always liked Mike Rowe, too.
 
Originally Posted By: nthach


It's sad that high school is too focused on getting kids into college when some aren't college material or won't go to a university. I feel we need to give kids in high school someway to explore their choices and bolster those programs at the community college level.


And, worse, guidance counselors steer the "dummies" into shop. I noticed auto shop I, II, III, and IV in my schools course catalog and asked mine point blank what they were like and she claimed to not know.
 
Whenever I hear the argument that certain people come to the US illegally to do "jobs that Americans wont do" I think of the show Dirty Jobs.
 
Originally Posted By: kb01
Whenever I hear the argument that certain people come to the US illegally to do "jobs that Americans wont do" I think of the show Dirty Jobs.


It's not so much that there are a lot of jobs Americans won't do, it's just that Americans for the most part are not willing to do a lot of jobs for minimum wage.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Those are sickeningly high wages.
I thought the trades people where I worked who make over $30/hour were doing well.

I think the really high wage trades are for things like high pressure pipe welding, or fatigue detection or a hundred other jobs specific to an industry. In a plant producing large expensive machinery, some things just have to be right every time and only a few guys have the knowledge and experience to make it happen. Even these high wages are a deal for the company because a mistake can lose them millions.
 
Nothing wrong with a skilled teacher or other person with lots of degrees/training/certifications/apprentice time getting paid $100k or more a year. It takes a lot of training to become good at a skill/trade. The best happen to earn a lot of money since they are the best at what they do, and are compensated accordingly.

There's also nothing wrong with very bright people entering a trade. Not everybody wants to sit in a classroom for 4 years preparing them to peck away at a computer for the rest of their working lives.
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
It looks like Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) has taken up the cause of teaching and working in the trades as a positive and worth wile prospect for young people.

I applaud him.


So do I. I was very frustrated when I was young, ddn't have a clear career path. A little trade school could have worked wonders.

As it stands today I did very well, but I wish the road could have been a little easier! People need to realize there are VERY good incomes to be had in skilled trades and/or services.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Nothing wrong with a skilled teacher or other person with lots of degrees/training/certifications/apprentice time getting paid $100k or more a year. It takes a lot of training to become good at a skill/trade. The best happen to earn a lot of money since they are the best at what they do, and are compensated accordingly.

There's also nothing wrong with very bright people entering a trade. Not everybody wants to sit in a classroom for 4 years preparing them to peck away at a computer for the rest of their working lives.


Agree to both. However there is the bulk expectation that a college degree should yield higher pay than something else. Right or wrong, that is what it is. Combine a lack of understanding wrt burdened rates with an expectation that a liberal arts degree that made someone head cashier at wal-mart should make more money by virtue of the degree... And a big gap forms in terms of what people expect.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan

I think the really high wage trades are for things like high pressure pipe welding, or fatigue detection or a hundred other jobs specific to an industry. In a plant producing large expensive machinery, some things just have to be right every time and only a few guys have the knowledge and experience to make it happen. Even these high wages are a deal for the company because a mistake can lose them millions.


You're basically describing one of my best friends from high school. He's a welder who specializes in nuclear power plants (I'm not sure his exact title). He works four months a year, straight, with no time off, and inspects every square inch of power plants. It's a tough, detail oriented, and potentially dangerous job. He loves the work, makes about $150k/year and enjoys getting 8 months off a year.

I also have an uncle who is a welder, who runs his own shop out of his garage and specializes in repairing loading docks for commercial buildings. He works in awful conditions but makes in the ballpark of $150k/year for a job most people probably don't even realize exist.

In my area, plumbers and electricians typically bill in the ballpark of $60 - $80/hr (plus truck roll fees, etc.). I'm not sure what that equates to in terms of salary when overhead is taken into account but it seems to be enough for a decent middle class lifestyle.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have stayed in the Army (or gone Air Force) or had gone into one of the trades. I love electrical and plumbing work and could see doing it as a career. As it is, I went to college and grad school, and specialized in a field that is completely dependent on a dying industry (coal).

America will always need mechanics, plumbers, electricians, welders, etc. -- virtually everything else can be outsourced, imported, or legislated away with a stroke of a pen.
 
listened to the speech. Well written, flows nicely. I wonder if he did it or Discovery communications did it...
 
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