Why Millennials AREN'T Going Into The Trades | Told By A Millennial

The younger generations must come back to the trades for the future of the country. In this video I go over the reasons I believe Millennials + Gen Z aren't going into the trades and how they can get jobs in which every trade they would like with high pay, great benefits and a good work/life balance.

[ssg]

This is an excellent video to share along with your great insights. I was someone who always knew I wanted to go to college: For the experience, the education, and with the plan to make a better future for myself. It paid off tremendously on all counts. However, and as you state, it's not for everyone. Also as you state, there is high value in all trades, especially now. I'm with you about having a work ethic. It matters now more than ever. Things can't get done if no one cares or has follow through. Thank you for taking the time to share your very practical/common sense observations. Cheers, Ardith

[nicholasevans]

There's a lot of toxic culture in the trades. I've seen a lot of dudes get bullied into quitting. And these were dudes that were eager to learn.

[Managementsheltontactical]

Worked my ass off for a small construction company of 3 dudes, was the gopher, 128lb 5’5 tiny man carrying floor Joyce’s and cinder blocks all day. The bullying was quite frankly to the point where I was about to do something that would have me in prison if I didn’t leave, the pay was 12$ an hour, and I was a 1099. The trades suck ass even my boss said I was the hardest working 18 year old he’s ever seen and still treated me like shit. 7 months in I left, now work a sales job making 150k a year, the money is in sales work.

[DKTY]

Trade unions are hard to get into also you usually have to know someone to get in. I tried back in 2017 and they told me there was 4 year wait in my area for any apprentice. Which is surprising when all you hear on the news is we don't have enough people in the trades. I had experience in framing, drywalling and fences/decks.

[mattm]

Sorry man the statistics don't match the incomes you are shooting out there for wages the average plumber makes NO WHERE NEAR 200, 000$ let alone 100, 000$ year that is utter bs. If you are the owner of a decent sized plumbing company yeah but most plumbers don't own the company. Also to make money in the trades you HAVE to work a ton of OT that's when you actually make decent money. My friend made 80, 000$ a year as an electrician running the entire job working 70 to 80 hours a week. Well guess what he burned out and now only works 40 hours a week and makes no where near that kind of money. Most trades afford you a very average middle class wage that's why nobody wants to go into them. Also most guys that work in the trades are pretty physically broke down by the time they retire. You are talking about people who OWN companies not the workers. If it were true that plumbers make 100, 000 dollars a year people WOULD go into the trades. Look it up yourself the average wage for plumbers is like 50 to 60K which is average.

[jimyoung]

Well said. A friend of mine took over the HVAC company his father started and recognized what he had. He always says, "People look down on the trades, but without them they'd be living in a hot, dark house crapping in buckets."

[Denum-]

Bad advice. The profit you made working dawn until dusk was better then what I'm getting the SAME thing. Profit margins have been decreasing forever. Why the hell do you think so few companies are taking apprentices?

[kevingilbert]

Great message! I grew up in the auto collision repair business, I worked in the industry for fifteen years and then taught it for twenty seven years. Hundreds of my students went into the industry.
I retired six years ago and I now homestead. And because my dad instilled in me "never pay someone to do what you can easily do". I've taught myself to garden, raise animals for meat, eggs, and milk. Learned to to make cheese and soap from my goat milk. Along with that you have to learn to do things around your property like carpentry, plumbing and electrical as well as landscaping. I've literally learned more in the last eight years than I did the previous twenty.

[OanaTheMeerkat]

I will speak about the trades in my country. Here it seldom pays a good salary. The work is hard and sometimes backbreaking with a lot of heath issues as you get older (I've seen 65 year olds in office jobs, but never in trade jobs). You also have more chances of getting a crappy boss/employer and colleagues who, not only will not teach your or help you, but they'd also let you make mistakes just to see you getting fired. Trades are only good if you: 1) learn a few tricks and go abroad 2) do freelancing while also having the job (and stealing some of the clients from your trade company)

[authenticallyamber]

Excellent perspective and spot on!! You’re very wise for your young age. God bless you for sharing your journey with us!

[MrsGigi]

Great video thank you for sharing some great advice.

[betsytoth]

You are so right! Around us there are not many schools that have vocational training. The push is to go to college or be good at sports and get scholarships to college. My brother still farms the family farm in Pennsylvania, but there isn't anyone to take it over. My son is a general contractor at 31 that not only builds and renovates houses, apartments and farms and can also do tree work. He has moved to South Carolina to his fiancee's beef and horse farm. The one thing about going into trades is there are always jobs. Thank you! Hopefully young people heed your advice! You are very mature and practical for your generation!

[tenniswithhenry]

Thank you. This video means a lot to me.

[Christian-jxnx]

Great video! It all started with having a good foundation. 😊

[coldspring]

You are correct. In the trades if you apply yourself you can excel at a very fast rate. You also are around other trades and that has many benefits in the long run. When a man balances his mind and hands he can go along ways and is less dependent on others.

[brandip]

Thanks for sharing this, my son is 17 and is worried about what he wants to do. But like you said his dad's side the family is all about university and college being the only way to success.
But I keep telling him that if he wants trades you can be trained for a quarter of the price and the starting pay is well above what some college level careers pay.

This is a great perspective, for our young people!!!!

[_Elijah_]

You have some old wisdom for a gen z person - your skills and trade look and sound like a person from gen x 💯

[dantolen]

5 years as a carpenter. I started late at age 28 after having worked dead-end jobs. Now I get good money to build beautiful things out of trees all day. It's peaceful and I'm proud of what I do.

[nickryan]

I'm 52. My dad was in construction and told me not to go into it. You're correct in your assessment, but in my dad's day, wives weren't working jobs with health benefits. Nowadays, households have someone with benefits which allows for someone to be in a trade that doesn't provide benefits.

[MD-eowy]

Electrical apprenticeship here in FL is $13.62 to start and tops at $24.40. You’re making way more off these videos than I would in the electrical field. Check your facts bud