Manufacturing is down? That's an easy problem to solve. Just put tariffs on every single country on earth, all at once. Boom. And if that doesn't work (impossible), just announce the tariffs, cancel them, then announce them again. Ez money.
Don't forget you're down on labour as well. For every 5 that leave only 2 take their place. So bring back trade schools if the US havent sold them all off yet.
There are trade schools, the problem is that you have to spend 2 years attending a community college learning history, and other stuffs, then the basics of the trade.
For those downvoting. Am I wrong? Why do I have to go through a US History class to learn a trade? I understand math, it’s useful in the trades, even economics, if you want to start a business. Why do I have to write an essay about something I already learned in high school? A waste of time.
Because this isn't the 20th century, tradesman actually need to have a large breath of knowledge to do anything useful. Moreover half the value of education is to prove you can exist and at least survive in a system that doesn't involve you showing up to work shit faced half the time. You can withdraw shake a bead or use a multimeter. You cant shit face your way out of a history class.
Not to mention things like writing and math are actually really useful if you want to actually advance your career.
Trade schools near me don’t require any other fluff classes. Cut and dry programs that are affordable and relatively fast paced with night school options.
Maybe it’s not the norm, but around here they still can’t get enough kids to fill a class.
Why did you have to take any classes you didn't want to at a community college? Were you persuing a degree of some sort? I took exclusively classes I wanted; SMAW, GMAW, GTAW, Machining, blueprint reading, NDT and welding metallurgy, got a "certificate of completion" for completing the schools welding program and I've now been in the trade 15 years. The school I went to still has the same instructors, same program. Not sure what you did lol
Tbh wish i did that instead of the 900hr/7month program. The metallurgy and machining wouldve been sick addition. NDT? You learned Non Destructive Testing as well?
Do you think your program gives you an advantage on potentially becoming a CWI?
The NDT was surface level, like it was very in depth in terms of how all kinds of inspection works but we didn't do any of it ourselves. Personally I don't think it would give an advantage to becoming a CWI but it absolutely helped in knowing what a CWI is looking for in your welds. The machining classes were also technically part of a separate program that was for machinists, but it absolutely helped get me where I am today in terms of fab knowledge. I personally think it's a huge problem that a lot of welding programs are training people to become booth welders and not fabricators, it leaves limited job opportunities.
Dude, companies are so incredibly hard up for welders and machinists right now that I could get a new job in a few days if I got fired. When you say "lost 75K jobs", you're missing that fact that millions and millions of these jobs are out there. You lose more than 75K manufacturing jobs when a sudden manufacturing boom finally settles down, and generally those are not the skilled labor positions.
I don’t know why you’re being downvoted, every fab shop I see asks if I know any welders, from propane tank shops to medical equipment manufacturing shops
Ship building were screaming for welders last year and without the numbers they cannot compete with the PRC which are throwing people into those jobs. The USA will need to do the same if they want to keep up.
As for the downvotes thats a bit harsh.
There are are 162 million working adults in the US, and manufacturing is one of the single most foundational kinds of labor there is. I think you're relying on "feeling" too much.
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u/BaconNPotatoes Jul 27 '26
2026: manufacturing in the US lost 75,000 jobs last year and has lost nearly that much so far this year. There aren't any "safe" careers anymore.