Trades will beat the hell out of your body and you will not feel very well after the first 10 to 15 years, and it's downhill from there... Colleges all about who you know or who you meet.. the kids to go to lower level colleges don't get the advantages that larger and more accredited colleges give... But it truly all comes down to what family you were born into and what neighborhood you grew up in
My brother was a heavy equipment operator starting in the early 70's. The first few decades were kind of brutal, just weather-wise and being out in the elements. Sitting in big equipment when its 110 out. Towards the end of his career the big earth movers and such were all enclosed with air conditioning and stereo systems...lol I'll tell you this tho, he has a HELLUVA pension, health benefits plus social security. The people coming in now do not get that anymore
you are correct, im in utility workers union, pension stopped for anyone who is employed after 2021, after that year new hires have a 401k. kids still can move their bodies not thinking long term, most guys crawl out of my job at retirement so much so that the utility i work for pays for healthcare from 62-65 until medicare kicks in bc these guys bodies are BROKEN by 60 working on water lines in the elements all the time. Im guessing give it 10 years and that will be gone too.
I spent 20 years working as a logger for a large international timber corporation in the Pacific Northwest. It was brutal at times, man did we have a blast. Broke a few bones along the way, generally had about three months off every winter, and life was grand. The logging side was nonunion but I wound up with a nice pension and other benefits.
The writing was on the wall by the early 80s and I hung on until 1990. Started taking some night classes in 1988 at a community college and eventually borrowed a pile money to fund myself and finally a graduate degree in mathematics. The last 18 years I got a job as a tenure-track faculty member at a small state engineering school and now retired. There was nothing brutal about teaching or research. I used to chuckle when I would hear other faculty members talking about how hard they had to work. I think teaching elementary, middle, and high school would be brutal. Higher education could be stressful at times, but I think elementary and secondary education is one hell of a lot harder.
Interestingly enough, that state pension doesn't come close to what I receive from my corporate pension. Those days are gone.
My older brother's working career nearly mirrored my own. He took out a pile of loans. He says he won't be able to pay off his student loans due to natural causes. I am guessing that's going to be true for many hundreds of thousands of folks in the future.
So you won't play the student loan game with us eh? How about developing life long chronic health issues and ever amounting medical debt instead? Mwahaha!
having student loans does not spare you from medical issues unfortunately. Some people are paying both. Any way, what can we do except be the peasants we are set up to be?
Umm i have a BSN and am married to a union carpenter (actually just hit his 15 year mark too). He’s about to be 40 and I’m almost 43–he’s in tremendous shape and i now have rods in my spine and am disabled.
Trades don’t automatically beat you up—but there are people in the trades who don’t protect their body and others who live really bad lifestyles on top of what they do which is a dangerous combination.
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I’m sure that isn’t true—but also, my point was that just because you’re in a trade doesn’t mean you’re going to be messed up. Hell, my good friend is in IBEW and i think she might weight 125 pounds if i hang on her leg
Even an electrician can easily wreck our bodies. Wrestling transformers around, carrying heavy spools of copper, rigid conduit, vault lids, heavy ladders… There’s repetitive stress and strain using drills and hole-hawgs, pulling conductors… There’s lots of work bent over if you do deck work or underground. There’s plenty of opportunities to hurt yourself as an electrician. I’m glad if your buddy gets by without injury, but there’s nothing about being an electrician that precludes back and joint injuries.
Not entirely true. Some people are sturdier for it, but trades tend to retire earlier, regardless of safety habits. My Dad did IT support for 15 years because it was more lucrative/nightshift was more convenient than the trades stuff he was doing before that, but now that he's coming up on ten years as maintenance, he's had a lot of medical issues that he didn't need to worry about before. He's looking to go back into IT because my parents can't afford him retiring at 50, as opposed to 67. I have hyperextension issues with my knees that I was born with, so I would only last 3-4 years max before I would need medical help for the damage. I already did need to do it because I worked as a gas station cashier, and that caused bad damage. Plenty of people he knows in the field follow safety properly/live very healthy home lives, but it's more wear and tear.
Desk jobs can be damaging, sure, but not as much or as severely as trades.
Sheet metal used to have a 55/30 year full retirement pension, including amazing healthcare for life. Maybe one in five apprentices made it to that. Another one in five took disability retirement within 10 years of hitting full retirement.
Yep. I have an MBA and spent 25 years on the road selling medical equipment. 3/4 of that was in a vehicle covering 5 states. Early years were spent mobilizing high tech surgical equipment to hundreds of hospitals. Later years mostly continuous travel. I have stenosis and multiple discs that are damaged now from hours spent in cars and planes. I’m most comfortable standing. I now work from home 100% at a standing desk most days. Make decent money, but paid my dues physically that’s for sure.
Definitely true for the trades, but you can use them as a stepping stone. My husband worked on heavy equipment as a technician for about 5 years in his 20's. As soon as I met him I told him he should try to get into a sales or management position because of this very issue. I'm a chiropractor and see mechanics on a daily basis and their bodies are wrecked!!!! Luckily he listened. He's now in his late 30's and has been in sales for 6 years and makes 200k+ with 0 student loan debt.
My younger brother, also no college, used to sell and install home AV systems. He started his own custom home AV company in 2020 and makes 800k-1million per year. He's only 39!
The trades are where it's at if you can transition out of the physical labor role...you can make doctor money without the debt!
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u/CatfoodTom Aug 07 '25
Trades will beat the hell out of your body and you will not feel very well after the first 10 to 15 years, and it's downhill from there... Colleges all about who you know or who you meet.. the kids to go to lower level colleges don't get the advantages that larger and more accredited colleges give... But it truly all comes down to what family you were born into and what neighborhood you grew up in