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 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 […]
Start Building Your References
Most employers, whether in the trades or any other field, will likely ask job applicants for references. These would be people who are familiar with your work at past jobs and/or who will testify about your character. Nobody wants to hire someone who’s lazy, a bumbler or troublemaker. A reference gives employers a third-party glimpse […]
The Blossoming of Service Work
I first began observing and writing about the trades more than 40 years ago. Changes during that span have been dramatic, encompassing many new technologies, tools and techniques. This is especially true for residential service firms – the companies you call to fix or install mechanical and electrical systems in your homes. When I first […]
How To Promote Trades Work in High School
We tell high school students time and time again: they have their entire lives in front of them. They indeed have the time to wander and explore if they so choose. Some will continue their education in college while others are not as sure about what their next pursuit will be after graduation. This makes […]
College Continues To Lose Luster
A trend that has played out for more than a decade continued last year as the college enrollment rate for U.S. high school graduates fell to 62%, down from 66.2% in 2019 and well below the all-time high of 70.1% in 2009, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department. (Data has not yet been […]
Physical Traits of Trade Workers
Like many of you, I’m a sports fan and in my youth was a fair to middling athlete. Never a star but usually better than half of my teammates. That’s also a fair description of the physical traits needed to become a skilled trade worker. You don’t have to have a body builder’s physique or […]
Skilled Trade Workers Are Out Of This World
I was about to submit a different insight for this month’s first blog, but during my daily online reading, an article about the importance of skilled workers as we enter a new phase of space exploration caught my eye. “ … Many different launch and crew vehicles, private space facilities, and other types of hardware […]