Trade Jobs Are Secure Jobs
Included among my daily reading is a large amount of business and economic news from the Economist, Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and other credible publications. One article from the WSJ a few days ago struck me as relevant to those of you contemplating trade careers. It had to do with a rise in layoffs at […]
Employers Rethink Need For College Degrees
That was the headline of an article in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago that grabbed my attention. It is yet more evidence for a theme that I have hammered home in this blog, which is, college degrees have been devalued even while their cost has skyrocketed. Various studies have shown that more […]
It’s National Apprenticeship Week
I’m submitting this article on Nov. 15, the second day of what’s been declared the 8th Annual National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), November 14-20, 2022. If it’s not marked on your calendar, you’re hardly alone. I didn’t learn about it until a few days before, when I found out First Lady Jill Biden was to visit […]
What Does Trade Work Really Cost?
Most trade workers get paid an hourly wage, although some service workers get paid on a commission basis depending on the value of jobs they finish. Rates vary in different parts of the country, generally in line with a regional cost of living, but for the purposes of illustration, let’s take an average of $25 […]
Never Work A Day In Your Life
Have you always been fascinated with how things work and fixing them when they stop working? Some people are born mechanics, and it’s a shame that too often they are discouraged from pursuing the kind of work they love. This realization hit me many years ago when I was an instructor at the University of […]
Be Productive Members of Society
Recent years have seen the emergence of a work-from-home trend in the white-collar world, driven by the Covid epidemic and the need for social distancing. Even though most restrictions have been lifted, many businesses are still allowing various office staff to continue working from home. Recently I read an article about various business management experts […]
Trade Wages Going Up, Up, Up
This blog frequently has drawn attention to the severe shortage of skilled trade labor in the country. It is hampering construction to the point that $1 trillion worth of planned spending on infrastructure projects is slow to take hold simply because contractors can’t find enough workers to staff all the needed projects. One study projected […]
Why College Costs Keep Rising
If you follow the news, you may have noticed a big story recently about President Biden forgiving up to $20,000 in student debt for beleaguered students and former students. Good for them. But before you applaud the federal government for its generosity, keep in mind that the debts are not really being erased. Payments have […]
Inflation & Deflation
If you follow the news, you know all about the inflation that’s been wracking our economy for the last couple of years. Even if you don’t follow the news, you feel it every day with just about everything you buy costing more. Inflation is what happens when too much money chases too few goods and […]
Compound Interest: What It Means To You
What financial planners call the “miracle of compound interest” contains both a potential blessing and a curse for young people investing in their future. Compound interest describes what happens to money owed or invested over long periods of time. Here’s the arithmetic in a nutshell. Suppose you borrow $1,000 at an annual interest rate of […]