I agree with all of this! Although one thing I heard growing up is how hard on the body trades can be. If your entire career depends on being able bodied, one bad accident can leave you without any means of supporting yourself or your family. (My grandfather lost a toe on the job once. Luckily he could still work, but that's always the gamble) With desk/knowledge based jobs on the other hand, you aren't as dependent on your physical health. Also, most people don't want their bodies run ragged by decades of manual labor so that they're living with chronic pain during their retirement years (if they make enough money to retire). My family members who worked in trades encouraged me to go to college partially for this reason.
I still have family who work trades (my younger cousin is a mechanic), but I think this is a reality people don't often talk about when it comes to why younger generations don't work in trades. There are more options than before and the pay+support often aren't enough to justify the risks.
This is such an incredibly good and important point!! It's so true that knowledge-based jobs are safer and way easier on your body. And this is probably a big reason fewer people are going into trades: they're weighing the risks. I wonder if with social media and digital technology, if it would make any sense for people to work part-time in a trade and do something else desk-based part-time, remotely from their location? Potentially satisfying the drive to make something with your hands while protecting your body and health? Idk.
I love this! I would like to support more skilled craft and become craftier myself. And this ties in with ethical consumerism, which is also something I’d like to prioritize.
Completely agree! I love the WWII era ethic of “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” But to be able to do that, stuff that breaks needs to be fixable and people need to have the skills to fix it!
As a university professor, I often lament how we as a society insist that a college degree is the only path to achieving "success." There are so many students in my classroom who should not be. Like you, if I could go back in time, I wonder if I should have chosen something different (and I say this as someone who did very well in college, leading me to where I am today). How do we encourage our children to pursue skilled crafts and where can they find mentors to help teach them? It might not be hard to find electrician apprenticeship programs, but where do you learn to become a cooper or a cobbler?
This is so fascinating to hear your perspective as a university professor! It’s really nice to meet you and can’t wait to continue this conversation. Thanks so much for being here!
I agree with all of this! Although one thing I heard growing up is how hard on the body trades can be. If your entire career depends on being able bodied, one bad accident can leave you without any means of supporting yourself or your family. (My grandfather lost a toe on the job once. Luckily he could still work, but that's always the gamble) With desk/knowledge based jobs on the other hand, you aren't as dependent on your physical health. Also, most people don't want their bodies run ragged by decades of manual labor so that they're living with chronic pain during their retirement years (if they make enough money to retire). My family members who worked in trades encouraged me to go to college partially for this reason.
I still have family who work trades (my younger cousin is a mechanic), but I think this is a reality people don't often talk about when it comes to why younger generations don't work in trades. There are more options than before and the pay+support often aren't enough to justify the risks.
This is such an incredibly good and important point!! It's so true that knowledge-based jobs are safer and way easier on your body. And this is probably a big reason fewer people are going into trades: they're weighing the risks. I wonder if with social media and digital technology, if it would make any sense for people to work part-time in a trade and do something else desk-based part-time, remotely from their location? Potentially satisfying the drive to make something with your hands while protecting your body and health? Idk.
I love this! I would like to support more skilled craft and become craftier myself. And this ties in with ethical consumerism, which is also something I’d like to prioritize.
Completely agree! I love the WWII era ethic of “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” But to be able to do that, stuff that breaks needs to be fixable and people need to have the skills to fix it!
As a university professor, I often lament how we as a society insist that a college degree is the only path to achieving "success." There are so many students in my classroom who should not be. Like you, if I could go back in time, I wonder if I should have chosen something different (and I say this as someone who did very well in college, leading me to where I am today). How do we encourage our children to pursue skilled crafts and where can they find mentors to help teach them? It might not be hard to find electrician apprenticeship programs, but where do you learn to become a cooper or a cobbler?
This is so fascinating to hear your perspective as a university professor! It’s really nice to meet you and can’t wait to continue this conversation. Thanks so much for being here!
Such a big topic that has always been close to my heart. So interesting!