With my college degree basically doing nothing for me at this point, I have been thinking about going back to school and pursuing a trade. I was wondering what are some trades that you recommend?
If you’re decent at math and physics and are even remotely handy, you can probably get into a data center or power plant. Both industries are growing like crazy while boomers and older Gen x are retiring.
It took a long while as a contractor, but I eventually got a job as an operator in a power plant. The rotating shift work can be rough, and some days are really demanding, but it’s overall not too bad usually and it pays well. Outside operators here start at like $40/hour. My water treatment specialty has gotten me a promotion and raises so now I’m at like $53.50/hour. If I can continue training and pass the test and board for it, I could make over $60/hour as a control room operator. With built-in OT and scheduled maintenance outages demanding even more OT, it’s impossible to not break $100k/year here. With bonus, I might break $150k this year.
Brush up on chiller loops, chemistry 101, physics 101, NATO phonetic alphabet, get 15k steps in a day, and change the oil in your car. If that’s pretty easy for you, there’s a career waiting for you lol.
i like being an electrician (low volt, basically stuff that carries some sort of data), unionized work gives a nice sense of comraderie and a great pool of knowledge on structure of jobs and contractors. a lot of the work is indoors too and the pay and benefits are great
Any insights about locksmithing? Aside, of course, from odd hours
I’d also like to hear about the journey toward being a master carpenter.
My friend is a locksmith and if your area is not overcrowded and you can keep a good company running it’s really good. People pay a lot of money to get back into their car at 6am but also every building needs a lock and the locks need maintenance.
It’s a real business though as the trade aspect of cutting a key or opening a door isn’t difficult at all. The challenge is running business, accounting and all the certifications and associated protocols. With all that said, it can get crowded real fast so this all only works if you’re one of 3 locksmiths in town at most.
Water system operator. Just get your certs
Electrician 100% and it’s really fun too.
I’m a software dev and that would be my backup trade as it scratches every intellectual itch if you work on more complex setups as well as mechanical fulfillment as you actually see your work published. The community is huge and the demand will almost never decline. The only downside that it’s not very mobile but still much more mobile than most other trades.
Wdym by mobile?
I almost went into the low voltage field, but realized with a bit of job shadowing that my commutes could be unpaid and unpredictable between changing jobsites. I guess that depends on the employer, and goes for any construction-related trade.
Electrician (lineman). Somewhat dangerous work, both due to inclement weather and the nature of high voltage lines, but it pays buckets
In Western countries, anything relate to house maintenance. Since inflation is posed to increase far more in services like plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc., it is good to known the basics. It is really not that complicated and the tools required can be justified just by no calling a professional even the first time. Now, do not cheap out in doing a good work, you may no realize it now, but it pays to do so. There is so much content online on how to do something it is really easy nowadays… and you partner will admire you like you never though possible!
Carpentry. Civil drafting. Commercial drone flying.
HVAC
Petro-chem turbine balancing
Instrumentation Tech. Those people run our systems, we’d be fucked without them. Factor in the two for one electrician training and you’re set.
