What is the best trade and why should I get into it?

What is the best trade and why should I get into it?

32 years old, no marketable skills. GED. Bright and a fast learner and wanting to do more than stock shelves until I'm 60. Have a car so can travel.

I was thinking welding, my local CC has several classes, but I thought I'd ask you guys for opinions first. Plan to speak to a guidance counselor this week.

Truth is I'm not super passionate about any of these, but I am willing to put in the hours if it means solid bank. I don't need to be rich. If I was make $20/hr I would be earning way more than I could spend.

Depends on the part of the country you are and the hours you want to work.

I'm a mechanic. Good field to get into

Southwest America. I'm in a desert so if I didn't have to work outdoors that would be swell, but I can stay hydrated.

The more hours the better. I definitely want a job where there is no shortage of work. I plan to retire early.

web dev sounds promising. what's that pajeet on youtube called who knows everything about circuits and electricity and stuff?

>web dev
>trade

$20 is extremely low pay in most cases. You may be scraping that early in an apprenticeship, but within a couple years you'll be looking at a lot more.

Mechanics (especially diesel), millwrights, etc. are all always in demand and pay fairly good across the board, but you'll spend your time banging and hauling shit, which may be a concern if you're worried about how many good years of manual labor you have left in you.

Welding and machinist gigs are pretty solid. They generally could pay a little better, but the manual labor aspect is fairly minimal and the work is common.

I would personally recommend being an electrician. Linemen in my area (and the northeast as a whole, to my understanding) eat pretty damn good. If you go into industrial electrician work, you can worm your way into industrial controls, robot programming, etc. and land yourself a controls engineering job where you've got air conditioning and a nice office chair (until you have to go out and help install/fix whatever abomination you have created). I know a few guys that went the industrial-electrician-to-controls route and they're set.

Whatever you do, don't pussy out and don't fuck up. Leave your phone and other shit that will distract you in your car. If your supervisor asks you if you fucked up, he already knows and is seeing if he can trust you or if you're going to lie to him. Listen way more than you speak. Take the shit you're given; you'll probably catch a lot for being a "late bloomer" of sorts, but everybody had to do it.

You're living in a sort of renaissance for the trades. Colleges are reaching breaking point and can't sustain pumping out retards with degrees when the world needs tradesmen. Take advantage of this opportunity to take your life somewhere.

electrician/plumber/hvac

HVAC is easy on your body decent money enough variety to not be extremely repetitive (welding, electrician). Plumbing is groace.

Welding is probably the best money though.

Little late in life to start thinking about mastering a trade.
Prostitution seems the most likely choice.

Youre going to need an apprenticeship, and arent you a bit old for an apprenticeship?

Yeah, I thought about electrician. Two things worry me: the math and the possibility of killing myself. That's why I think something like welding is more my speed. Less possibility of killing myself, and the pay really is more than I need (I'd probably just be tossing my extra cash at someone who could invest it for me). I have learned to live on $12/hr very comfortably.

The less time I have to spend in a classroom before I get into an apprenticeship, the better. What the fuck is a millwright?

Underwater wood welding, is probably the highest pay in the field and the demand is high.

Your contributions are valued

There's a difference between an electrician and an electrical engineer. GED level math is more than enough for an electrician. Welding can be similarly dangerous, but almost all skilled trades can be if you're an idiot about it. Show up to your local IBEW, say you're trying to get your foot in the door, and hope there's no waitlist.

Millwrights install and maintain machinery of all sorts. It's pretty lucrative depending on where you live, but you'll be out on the floor working hard doing it.

HVAC and plumbing are other really good options that I forgot to mention that other people brought up.

>32 years old, no marketable skills
What have you been doing for the past 14 years?

>32 years old, no marketable skills. GED.
>Bright and a fast learner

TOPFUCKINGKEK!

Your prob more likely to be hurt welding than electrical work ffs. Welders travel a lot from shutdown to shutdown. But pay is good. If you are soft I would suggest elec over welding. But again a trash welder is one thing, a good pipe welder or boiler tube welder sis another, far more skill involved than a trash welder. Hell just pick a trade you like and the cream always rises to the top. You can work on gas pumps and make 20-25 per hr and it's easy. They will train you

Google what has high demand.
IME welders and CNC guys can always find good work.

Being retarded desu. Took me this long to realize retail just won't cut it.

It felt like I could do it forever, 5 years ago.

I don't have a man-bun and that guy is a legitimate retard.

Short term yes, long term no. Industry is changing with hybrids & electrics that don’t need maintenance. I own a shop. This industry has 15-20 yrs left after that we’re fucked.

Yea tell us wtf you have been doing all this time!

>You're living in a sort of renaissance for the trades. Colleges are reaching breaking point and can't sustain pumping out retards with degrees when the world needs tradesmen. Take advantage of this opportunity to take your life somewhere.

This is a very regional thing. Trade jobs aren't wide open everywhere.

Anything that doesn’t require a brick n mortar building to operate out of. Become a plumber, electrician, handyman etc and work out of a service truck or van and start your own business.

>Become a plumber, electrician, handyman etc and work out of a service truck or van and start your own business.
One thing at a time. I would definitely be looking into unionizing first. Maybe I could strike out on my own after I have a nice bankroll.

see

>Took me this long to realize retail just won't cut it.
>Bright and a fast learner

Again, topfuckingkek.

I worked HVAC in Los Angeles. Some days we worked 8 hrs in -20 degree blast freezers. Giant walk in freezer/warehouses. The units would ice over, grow a couple feet of ice on the fins and we had to go remove it which required blow torchers, hammers and water hoses. Fuck that.

Yeah, I just liked not having a lot of responsibility. Being bright doesn't mean being wise.

I am ready to get shit on, as long as I'm working towards a career that is rewarding.

Get off 4chin, buy a beat up Miller 120v wirefeed and get your black ass into gear. Just practice, practice, practice. Spend all your spending money on wire, gas and sticks (even tho stick welding is practiced much outside of farm work anylong but it teaches you the most about the trade imo) Seriously, if you don't know shit about welding and have no experience, your going to be pulling your dick for years spotting and clean up. My title is mechanic/welder and I've never stepped foot in a class for either. Growing up, I would break shit, fix it and then weld it to something. You can land a great job just by walking in and laying down the most beautiful bead the boss has ever seen then just drop the Stinger like a mic and walk out that bitch.

As much as I despise unions its a pretty good deal for union workers no doubt. But still nothing beats doing your own thing.

Arizona? Currently I'd wager all the trades are doing well right now. HVAC of course always has work, and Phx is going through quite the construction boom right now so as long as you're not an autistic retard you should get hired

I actually have a yard and was planning to use it as a workspace to practice when I'm not in class. But I'm not going to learn welding off of fucking youtube. I want to get into this professionally.

Your post made me kek, thnx. I'm white.

>Arizona?
Bingo. I didn't even think how HVAC might be relevant here. Will ask about that as well.

Barely, imo.

the people shitting on you are in the same situation as you OP, they're just young and haven't realized what trajectory they're on yet.

I can relate to you on the low expenses lifestyle and being scared of being an electrician. if you want low responsibility and low wages check out painting, landscaping, bricklaying. I'm a pipefitting apprentice and I recommend it or hvac. I know many MANY apprentices in all trades that are your age and older so don't get discouraged. good luck nigger

class A cdl. 6 week course. guaranteed job upon certification. 50k annum.

Jk, user. Luv you

>class A cdl.
>50k
I'm intrigued, can you repeat that in english?

thnx friend. I think I can do a LITTLE better than stacking bricks but I'm not against it if it's decent pay.

He said he's white dude! Thefuk

>didn't even think how HVAC might be relevant here.
Wow...

Love you too man. You should get into comedy. And stop being a fascist fuck.

Take your equivalent of A Levels and get yourself into university. Failing that, become an electrician or a plumber. Everyone needs those.

desu senpai i feel OP, you can be intelligent but just a lazy fuck, sometimes it takes you a while to get passionate about your life.

He means become a truck driver. Sit on your ass. Get paid.

Nah

>class A cdl.
become a trucker

>50k
$50,000

yeah idk. I don't really like driving. I actually just learned this year, kek.

Took a shift driving to Vegas and white-knuckled it the whole way.

Bingo! It's your calling OPie

De you are a quick Learner

Holy fuck, dude.

You started a little late to retire early as a tradesman mate. Your best option for a viable retirement is now around 60-70.

Also last time I checked, plumbing was the highest paying trade. Look into Lineman work if you -really- want to retire early. If you can handle heights there's always tower climbing you can do on the side for sometimes several hundred an hour.

>Your best option for a viable retirement is now around 60-70.
No that's probably when I'll be dead. My parents died in their 60s.

Apprentice electrician here. Depends on your area but where I’m from the electrical trade is saturated with lazy retards and boss that expects super high profits all the time and a union that is cucked beyond belief. 10/10 would re roll as a welder. If things don’t brighten up in the electrical trade for me in the next year I’m getting into welding

>which may be a concern if you're worried about how many good years of manual labor you have left in you.

Don't underestimate this one, OP. I used to work in a factory; I wasn't a tradesman, although I performed a number of different jobs over the years and I was exposed to basically everyone in the plant at one point or another. The old guys were the entire reason I decided to get my act together and go to college. A very significant number of them were former tradesmen, working way past the age of retirement in dead-end light manual labour jobs. A number of them were former millwrights or welders who basically had to deal with the incredibly shitty working conditions in the factory because they couldn't cut it on their own anymore. It was kind of sad - or more accurately, depressing. You sure as fuck better ensure you have a good retirement fund going, and insurance, or you're liable to lose your job due to an injury and end up begging for a shitacular factory job in no time. This was a non-union factory, too, so everything was absolute trash (also nobody with the will to live worked there for more than a few years, so it had an inordinate number of these sorts).

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a lawfag now so perhaps my word shouldn't be trusted and I'm just a pussy. I also wouldn't recommend college (or law) to anyone in the United States. You're basically fucked either way so make sure you are proactive with taking steps to protect your future or you WILL be a pathetic gutter-dwelling hunch-backed old fuck in a few decades. I mean, jesus, I knew more than one guy who lived in a tent.

tl;dr plan ahead and pick a trade you can do long-term or at least get insurance and shit

I'm a welder, 32 also. Been doing it for about 10 years. The pay where I'm located isn't great, but manageable.

If you have good hand/eye coordination, you can be a good welder. It helps to have good eye sight too, I'm very good at what I do.. even with my terrible vision.

Surveying.

I know this first hand. I've done takeoff estimates for heavy construction projects. If you don't pay surveyors the big bux, they will fuck off and you are shit out of luck.

Requires some community college classes (no degree), but it's one of the trades with the least amount of workers. There's something like 10 civil engineers for every surveyor.

Experienced surveyor makes around $100-150k and has 4 hour work days if he's good at what he does.

Welding is a meme at this point. It's a good profession but everyone always shits it out of their mouth because it's the most stereotypical trade profession.

Stool grooming

it's not for everybody. i enjoy sitting on my ass doing nothing while making money. i drive 500-600 miles a day @ $0.45 a mile. i own gibson les pauls, rickenbacker basses, marshall amps and my python boots cost $400. looking at 80 acres of wooded land now. i'm 53 and i've been doing this for only 4 years now. if i started in the 1980s i'd be a fucking millionaire now

Them you're gonna work until you're dead bro. It takes at least 20 years to get a half decent retirement even started. Unless you can learn some really good investment ideas and get lucky as fuck you aren't retiring before 60.

You can attempt the military, they might be letting 30 somethings in right now, they're pretty short because they went overboard on cutbacks. That's about the only job left with a retirement pension at 20 years.

Sounds promising but the robots are coming for your job. You'll be retired by then but not me.

Consider trucking to be a bad fucking time investment, lul. Robots are going to kill that job really, really soon.

>robots are coming for your job.
not gonna happen. too many variables that cannot be managed by AI i.e. getting to assigned dock, dropping/hooking, getting BsOL signed, etc.

Definitely not any time soon. Decades away.

stay on reddit you 90 IQ faggot

Trades hahahahaha
Enjoy ur 40 hr barely above minimum wage working alongside dropouts and criminals on parole.

A Tesla can drive and park itself.

It can't sign off on a piece of paper but a liaison on location could probably do that.

If you have a bit of mechanical skill, try Aircraft Maintenance. It sucks sometimes, but pays well and you can see some cool shit depending on the directions you take your career in. A&P License and apprenticeship

Wind Turning technician

Wind turbine *

Too old. They'll consider you a retiree at 35.