Trade Work Will Not Grow Obsolete
Recently I read an article about razor blade companies suffering sales declines due to the popularity of beards in our culture. That got me thinking about so many businesses and professions that are no longer around due to new technologies or cultural changes. Think about how demand shrank for blacksmiths, stable hands and wagon makers […]
How To Get Rich
Different people may have different ideas of what it means to be wealthy. To some people, it may mean being worth billions of dollars, like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or other high-tech entrepreneurs. To reach that level, you need to invent something most of the world wants to buy or start a revolutionary new business. […]
The Trades Offer Plenty Of Room For Advancement
When you think about a career in the trades, don’t think that means turning wrenches for the rest of your working life. The skilled trades offer plenty of opportunity for advancement in positions that challenge your intellect, as well as managerial and leadership abilities. As you gain experience in a skilled trade, new opportunities constantly […]
What’s Your Passion?
A long time ago, I taught essay writing at the University of Illinois in Chicago, my alma mater. Like other instructors, I held office hours for individual student consultations. One day I was meeting with a young man who was the worst student in my class. He had trouble stringing two coherent sentences together. I […]
The Skills Of A Skilled Trade
I keep throwing around the term “skilled trades,” and some of you might be thinking: don’t all jobs require skills? To some extent that’s true. But some skills can be acquired pretty easily. The working world is filled with jobs that can be learned well enough for a new hire to perform productively in a […]
Next Step: Planning What Happens Directly After Graduation
Many of your classmates might be headed off to college, but the truth is that a four-year degree isn’t for everyone – and it isn’t needed by everyone – to have a successful career. What seems like a “you’re crazy if you don’t” scenario actually wasn’t even attempted by most high school graduates only a […]
Five People You Know Who Didn’t Go to College
The sad fact about college is that the valuable degree you can earn at the end of four years can put you deep in debt. What’s more, getting a college education doesn’t guarantee that there’ll be a job waiting for you when you graduate. Some of the most successful people in today’s business world were […]
Six Famous People Who Started Out As Apprentices
On your way to becoming a plumber, electrician, or an HVAC technician, you’ll have some specialized, on-the-job training known as an apprenticeship. There are plenty of benefits attached to apprenticeships—including the opportunity to earn a decent salary while you learn, helping you to skip the crippling debt associated with going to college and getting a […]
The Science Behind Online Quizzes Get Reward With Valuable Information
Engaging their curiosity makes students hungry to learn. It’s this natural curiosity that draws us to online quizzes. In a best-case scenario, we answer questions and gain insight about ourselves or a subject that interests us. And then sometimes, we come across those “what color is your aura” kind of quizzes. There goes 5 to […]
Dummies Need Not Apply
March 28, 2017 A skilled trade requires smarts Pardon my rant, but when something annoys the hell out of me I have trouble keeping quiet. One of the things that sets me off is when college-educated people look down on the trades as something less intelligent people ought to aspire to. Less intelligent than who? […]