Beware Of The Peter Principle
“The Peter Principle” is the title of a book published in 1972 that, in my opinion, is one of the most insightful business books ever. It refers to the fact that many people in the business world tend to be promoted beyond their level of competence. We see it in most types of business, even […]
Mind Your Manners
Politeness is important when it comes to any career, especially the plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical trades. Many people besides myself have noticed a general decline in good manners in recent times. In the trades or any other job for that matter, manners or lack thereof have a way of leaving an impression.. People are […]
What I Learned From Shop Class
I want to revisit a blog I wrote six years ago for this website. A key passage went as follows: “Even though I was a klutz mechanically, the mandatory shop classes taught me to handle tools better than I could before then. Even more important, they gave me a lifelong respect for manual skills and the […]
How To Sell Yourself
You may not think of yourself this way, but no matter what you do for a living, at various times you will have to be a salesperson. You may or may not ever be charged with selling products or services, but at the very least you will have to sell yourself and your talents. You […]
College vs. Trades: Why Not Both?
Some of you may be debating about whether to go to college or embark on a trade career. In fact, it is not an either-or proposition. It’s not unheard of for college students or even graduates to find out they like working with tools better than whatever white-collar job their education landed them. It happens […]
College Gets More Thumbs Down
It skipped my attention for a while, but I recently became aware of a Gallup survey published last July that showed only a little more than a third of Americans expressed confidence in the value of a college education. As recently as 2015, 57% of Americans said they had “a great deal” or “quite a […]
College Costs Blow My Mind
Way back close to the Stone Age, I financed my own way through college. As a military veteran, I was assisted by a monthly stipend of $170 a month from the G.I. Bill, coupled with free tuition thanks to my veteran’s status at a state school. Even so, I was self-supporting and still had to […]
Trade Scholarships Are Waiting For You
In these blogs I’ve hammered home how expensive college is these days and cautioned about the burdens of student loan debt. Trade schools are much less expensive than college, but a good one may still set you back thousands of dollars a year. Even modest tuition payments may be a struggle for some of you. […]
Trade Work Is Brain Work
You often hear homeowners complain about a trade worker who charged them a lot of money for a taskthat might have taken only a few minutes. What they need to realize is that they aren’t paying for the act of turning a wrench or screwdriver. They are paying someone with specialized knowledge of which nut […]
Housing & The Trades
The housing market is one of the most important sectors of the American economy, both in terms of newly built houses and renovation or repair of existing homes. Most estimates place housing at between 15-18% of overall GDP – i.e., Gross Domestic Product, or the total value of all goods and services produced in our […]