any /tradeboys/ here? What did you get into? What's it like, what's it pay?
What skills / trades are the best to learn that will be always be in demand? I'm looking to get into something but I am still unsure of what.
I am considering becoming a trucker, it would be a great way to see the country and to get out of this shit-hole I live in now.
>Trucker
>Not doomed to automation soon
If you're going to get a trade, at least get something that take skill.
Yeah I know, I was considering it but its all gonna be automated
If you care about pay don't go for a trade-skill.
Just pick something you enjoy.
Carpentry zens me out so I learnt that.
what's it like?
Get into pipefitting and get a water/wastewater license.
What do you mean?
When I was roofing I was making $275/hour. It’s back braking work though.
I mean give me a quick rundown about what it is exactly you do aside from cut wood. Do you work for someone? Alone? What do you make?
I did roofing in Texas a few summers ago. Not for me.
I've got my D1.1 stick welding cert and I don't know what to do with it. Southeast PA resident, gonna get more school and learn MIG in the spring. Welders?
How did you get into it? Did you go to school or what?
>doomed to automation soon
Fuck off with this shit you moron.
How is this Sup Forumsrelated you dumb faggot?
I'm a man, not a boy. But what ever.
I'm a master electrician with an office job doing basically the same thing that electrical engineers do. I design schematics for automation systems and love it.
Pay is solid middle class in my area. I make about the same as an entry level electrical engineer, which is pretty good considering my time in the trade is about the same as an engineer fresh out of college. And my pay keeps going up and up as I gain more skills.
Try asking the question on any other board, you'll get memes and video-game playing faggots replying to you...calling you a fag for working.
>Get into pipefitting and get a water/wastewater license.
Pipefitting is fine, but the whole underwater welding thing is a Sup Forums meme.
Carpenter who does mostly residential framing here. It's hard, satisfying, shitty work that doesn't pay the greatest. Go into plumbing.
Self-imployed.
Get wood from anyone who's giving it away, you'd be surprised how easy that is, if it's raw logs then cut it and carve it or turn it into something, if it's planks/palletes usually furniture.
Chairs, tables, spoons, spatulas, pretty much whatever I feel like. Then go and sell it at markets, a few shops stock my stuff as well.
Dunno what it's like for people working for employers.
Human workers are so much better than robots in everyway, I'm sure the decrease in costs and increase in efficency won't be an incentive to begin a transtition in trucking like it already has in many other areas once the technology get's good enough.
That’s irrelevant, go to a specific board for that. Moderation is non existent on this board and we are overrun with inane discussion
>Moderation is non-existent
Do you even pay attention?
Threads are getting 404ed left and right currently.
Mods just only care about certain shit. Off-topic thread? All G. Roy Moore thread? Fuck dat.
you're dumb
>Carpenter who does mostly residential framing here. It's hard, satisfying, shitty work that doesn't pay the greatest. Go into plumbing.
Master electrician here and I can confirm what this guy is saying. Our state has a shortage of qualified plumbers and it creates a huge amount of problems for contractors wanting to get work done such that they offer decent sign on bonuses for journeymen plumbers.
Elevator repairman. You can make six figures in new york.
>once the technology get's good enough.
You mean once every other car on the road is autonomous. Or there are no longer any small trucking companies that can't justify the initial cost and upkeep of such a system. You probably don't even have a fucking job.
learn how to fix robots, since they will be doing 80 percent of work soon
Drive shaft manufacture. Started the company about six years ago. I also really enjoy machining so I like taking in jobs that a lot of other places won't take since I can make a lot of custom balance adapters, etc.
OP here. 32 years old. Is it too late for me to get into any of this shit?
>Have enough brain cells to see past my own nose.
>Proof I don't have a job.
Nice one.
Automated cars can handle Humans, they're better without Human drives but still perfectly functional.
And small companies won't switch over, but big ones definitly will start to transition.
And I dunno about the USA, but in NZ most transport is not done by the small companies.
>learn how to fix robots, since they will be doing 80 percent of work soon
This guy gets it. I design automated systems and have even done projects in Mexico and South America for customers looking to save money on labor.
Does that tell you anything about how fucked unskilled American workers are in the future?
I'm 32 as well user. I started in this business when I was 20 and still in college but I took up machining to make my own balance pieces a few year ago so no, you can still do it. Find something you like and go for it.
>OP here. 32 years old. Is it too late for me to get into any of this shit?
Maybe, but you might be able to get a start as a $12/hour helper doing hard ass work. It's up to you where that start takes you.
Thanks. Went through some rough shit the past 7 years. Looking to start new.
Electrician, HVAC, plumber, diesel generator tech. These jobs won't be robotisized soon and imported 3rd worlders are usually too stupid to do them.
Same here bro. Rough shit about 9 years ago and another little rough patch a year and a half ago with the business but you just nut up and keep going. One thing is for sure: when you make something with your hands that someone else is in awe of and they pay you for it, you've never felt like more of a fucking man.
>Thanks. Went through some rough shit the past 7 years. Looking to start new.
Well then, the trades might actually be for you. This is a field where the only thing your employer cares about is how well you can do the job. Your background, credit score, and appearance really don't matter. If you can show up everyday and do what you're told, you're already better than about 60% of entry level guys.
Debating taking the carpentry and renovation technician program at a nearby school. How is the job market for it?
You are stupid
Thanks. I did construction when I was 18, working 60-70 hour weeks. I'm no dummy.
I've got some money coming to me soon and will be investing it all into a new career
Nigger you're the one with the commie flag
The people I worked with on site were complete fuckups. Drugs, alcohol, just completely fucking retarded people.
Got my Electrical Technician diploma and moved to southern alberta looking for an electrical apprenticeship
only call back so far is to be a cable guy at shaw. Hoping the New Year will encourage companies to hire some level 1 guys
Pretty much. That's why being a normal person who can show up everyday and not be a basic fuck up makes you better than at least 60% of the competition.
I guess I'm more than halfway there then
>Got my Electrical Technician diploma
Bad news is that no one cares about your diploma. When you go to a restaurant do you care if the cooks went to the best cooking school or were simply trained in house? Have you ever asked yourself that question?
The good news is that your diploma can open other doors once you've found an entry level position and have a few years experience.
Any fridgies here? Some areas are so hard up for service techs that they're starting techs at like $20/hr as apprentices fresh out of less than 1 year of school, even when the minimum wage is like $7-$8.
trades will become irrelevant once globalization becomes a major thing.
i prefer chinese goods over shittily made american goods anyday.
>no one cares about your diploma. When you go to a restaurant do you care if the cooks
Generally people don't go to restaurants to hire a chef.
Trades are a major fucking meme
>Any coworkers will probably be ethnic minorities who barely even speak the language with an IQ of literally 60, and are generally just the worst types of people you'd ever want to associate with
>Literally anyone who works any type of white collar job will look down on you as the scum of society
>Zero promotion/advancement prospects except for maybe becoming manager of the unit at some point very far down the road, nothing further
>The "excellent pay" is an absolute meme
>Don't plan on having a normal family life because you'll never get to work normal hours
Not even shilling for universities, I think NEETing is preferable to both. But trades are a 100% Sup Forums meme from people who have never worked any job at all and just like to post on Sup Forums about jewish brainwashing in universities.
>flag
An an employer I would like to know the person I was going to hire, train, and pay for the next 8,000 hours has an interest and basic understanding of the field of work
But I understand what you're getting at. Most people I know who are level 1 or level 2 apprentices had family or a family friend in the company that hired them. Whatever will give me the advantage going in I'm going to take
>Generally people don't go to restaurants to hire a chef.
You hire a cook every time you chose to spend money at a restaurant. Similarly, your employer hires you for each project they chose to give you; failing to give you future projects is tantamount to firing you. Do you see how this works?
Trying to become a spark in London. Not much success on the apprenticeships front- vacancies are far and few between. Any advice from a qualified® electrician™ would be much appreciated.
Just admit you made a shitty comparison and shut the fuck up you mong. Customers have no say in who's working the kitchen.
>An an employer I would like to know the person I was going to hire, train, and pay for the next 8,000 hours has an interest and basic understanding of the field of work
Trade school doesn't teach any of that.
Lineman for an electric company. It pays great
>Just admit you made a shitty comparison and shut the fuck up you mong. Customers have no say in who's working the kitchen.
Customers very much do have a say who is in the kitchen and they vote on this with their feet. One of the measures my company uses to evaluate our field electricians is the rate at which our customers return to us for future work. Poor repeat business = termination for that crew.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
>welder
>lot of work
>LOT of work
>
I sleep great. awesome benefits. bought a house. have savings. Have retirement. life is good.
i heard thats incredibly hard to get into ?
If you don't know anyone, I'd recommend getting out of London and having a look at industrial maintenance, assuming you're any good at troubleshooting and don't mind getting your hands dirty.
And restaurants don't work like that, you spastic.
>And restaurants don't work like that, you spastic.
Oh. Yea. Sure. People keep returning to restaurants which offer shitty food and service. Yep, that's a great way to stay in business.
Yeah you have to work hard but if you get in through IBEW and depending on the area it might not take that long
I've tried applying to the local plumber's union for a second time. Hearing back Friday and hopefully will get accepted into their apprenticeship program.
Could really use the work as I've been stuck driving for Uber for a while now.
If you're a fuckup you'll get the sack. Customers on the other hand have no say in who gets hired, which is the only time a diploma will be relevant.
You fucking cretin.
Customers pay the business money and if they do not like what the business is offering, they will take their business elsewhere. The customer is the ultimate boss of any business and you are a god damn fool to think otherwise.
HVAC
Oil burning, Gas burning appliances and refrigeration. You need a fuck tonne of tools but it pays well. Industrial is where the money is at. Was gonna look and see if my license ip here will allow me to work in the US, probably make better pay, and nit get taxes to all hell.
Sure, I wouldn't mind- I've done dirty manual labour, and was doing freelance computer repairs on the side. Don't mind moving, neither. Thanks for the advice.
And you're a fucking idiot if you think they have any say in hiring, because causality doesn't work that way.
How the fuck are you even working?
Fuck off, we're full.
HVAC guy here. AMA
There's a LOT of money in it, you need a lot of expertise, we do it all. refrigeration, oil, gas, steam/water, chillers, appliances, plumbing and electrical knowledge
Tradesman here. If you are thinking about a career in the trades heed my advice and throw Mike Rowe's pitch in the garbage, where it belongs.
>DO
HVAC, plumber, electrician, diesel mechanic
>DON'T
welding, carpentry, machining
Seriously fucking listen because I wish someone experienced told me this when I was considering this path. Welding, carpentry, and machining are excellent skills to have but they don't often make lucrative careers. Wages in the trades are way overstated for the vast majority. A teensy tiny exception to the rule actually makes six figures, and they are busting their asses working ten or twelve hour days, weekends, etc. In what little free time you have you will be exhausted. Furthermore, there is precious little room for advancement unless you know the right people or are in the right place at the right time.
As for truckers, you need to watch out for companies that will try to rope you into a debt scam where you end up working insane hours just to pay them for a truck. Usually the companies that respond fastest to young newbies' applications are the ones who run that sort of draconian game. For the trades in general, unless you have access to a back door, starting out you're probably going to have to eat a shit sandwich for a while. No, there isn't a shortage of skilled tradesmen in the country. There is a shortage of skilled tradesman willing to work for mcdonalds wages.
If you are a relatively intelligent person, think long and hard about the trade career before you put any eggs in that basket. And only consider the trades I listed in the DO category.
hey snap me too. working in chch?
Businesses only hire people who they think will benefit the business. If you are too stupid to understand this, it means that companies only hire people who they think will make them money because that is the whole point of running a business.
Companies don't give a fuck what cooking school or engineering program you went to; they only care if you can make them money or not. And if you can't make them money, which is done through the generation of revenue, you will be shown the door very fucking quickly.
I really don't understand why this is difficult for you to understand. Is the education system in the UK really that socialized already?
Remind me again where the customer comes in to this? Do the owners just call a couple in to the interview and ask if the guy looks like he'd make food they'd like.
Pls stop, it's painful.
>Remind me again where the customer comes in to this?
Who gives the business money?
Hint: it's not the fucking employees.
So they're going to give the restaurant money to hire the guy who might at some point in the future cook them a meal?
Oh okay tell that to HR and all the other revenue-negative careers ya dumbfuck.
I was a trucker. Hell, pure hell.
No sleep, no exercise, no baths.
lectrician
Welding. Finally broke 100k this year, because I actually bothered to work. Still, don't want to be in manual labor forever. Make some quick money, set up my off-grid acreage, and move on to easier things. Ideally, start a business.
Kind of wish I'd gone into the trades right away instead of wasting 4 years at university first. Could have had a house paid off by now. Still, it provided me with valuable lessons about the (((education system))).
Well done. You'll notice a lack of old welders for a reason.
>So they're going to give the restaurant money to hire the guy who might at some point in the future cook them a meal?
Customers buy meals in anticipation of enjoying the meal more than other uses their money could have gone towards. Had they felt a competing restaurant could have offered more value for their money, they would have taken it to that restaurant.
>Oh okay tell that to HR and all the other revenue-negative careers ya dumbfuck.
HR exists to save the company money by terminating unproductive employees in ways such that they can't file for unemployment benefits (a cost to the company) or otherwise reducing liabilities to the company. HR benefits the company by saving them money in non-wage expenses and liabilities.
Oil is where it's at, but people are always gonna need drinking water.
This user has it right from I know. Though I'm a machinist as well, it's not the technical definition of what I do as a career, just part of it. Everyone I know who is a "machinist" that works for someone else gets paid shittily. This is especially true in the days of CNC.
mechanic
>being able to fix your own cars
>unlimited side work
>can never be automated
Electrical Lineman here. Made $110k last year. Good respectable job but not everyone can do it.
You're exploding my mind here man, you're saying people get hired on the basis of whether or not a potential future customer considers his currently nonexistent food good value for money.
This is some next level retardation.
People get hired on the basis of references, be that personal knowledge, previous employers, or professional qualifications. Whether you last or not is based on your performance, but that has fuck all relevance until you have the job.
God shut up you little shit you sound 12. Cue “i was only pretending to be retarded”
No, they don't. People get hired based on the employer's belief that they can generate positive revenue for the company. And when all is said and done, no one really gives a fuck what medical school their doctor went to, which program their marriage therapist graduated from, which nursing school their nurse went to, or which cooking school (or lack their of) the cook at a restaurant went to.
The only thing the customer gives a fuck about is the quality of service they receive. Maybe past employers and professional references are a factor in hiring at some companies, but they're not a factor in whether or not the person keeps their job.
And with that said, I'm off to bed because I have standards and a job to keep.
Kek, retarded amerishart BTFO!
Well, all I'm saying is I can see why Mexicans are out-competing you speds.
>>DON'T
>machining
But CAD is relevant now and for the foreseeable future. From metal machining to laser/water cutting to 3D printing it'll just keep growing.
Don't you usually have to have an uncle who's in the union to get that gig?
Nobody wants just a welder or just a machinist.
The good end of machining is designing, programming, working with engineers. I was operating and maintaining a cool million dollar laser cutting steel plate 60 hours a week, for peanuts. The patterns the machine followed were made by a guy at home in his underpants with a beer who could just email his work in and call it a day.