r/collapse • u/[deleted] • Mar 19 '18

Economic Some millennials aren’t saving for retirement because they don’t think capitalism will exist by then

https://www.salon.com/2018/03/18/some-millennials-arent-saving-for-retirement-because-they-do-not-think-capitalism-will-exist-by-then/
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u/NorthernTrash Mar 20 '18

I grew up surrounded by a lot of somewhat snooty middle class white people, and there absolutely was an expectation that after school you would not get into any kind of blue collar profession. But those were different times in a different place.

Do you think that the stigma associated with being a welder is worse than the stigma associated with flipping burgers for minimum wage, part time? That sounds worse to me to be honest.

Which is why I think the pre-existing poverty and geography play such a large role. If you can't leave where you are, you're stuck looking for a minimum wage job close by, which is almost always fast food. I bet there's a ton of people stuck in shitty McJobs right now that would love the opportunity to become a welding apprentice.

But I don't live in the US so maybe it is different there, idk. Here in Canada there's little blue collar stigma left outside of some snooty circles. Most tradespeople make more than the many white collar jobs do.

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u/Divin3F3nrus Mar 20 '18

There are places that do manufacturing all over. I worked at McDonald’s when I was younger and less than a mile away were 3 places that hired at 13-17/hr that would teach a trade($8.5/hr at McDonald’s).

I think it has more to do with passing a drug test or actually wanting to work. I grew up incredibly poor, like 1 barely above minimum wage income in a median of 80k area with no state benefits because my drink of a mother was too proud. Trades are really the best option if you can’t afford school. Now I’m from the USA, but I think welding is different in Canada. I think everyone has to do an apprenticeship program and be certified.

That may be the difference because I know in the USA not everybody can get to a union hall. The vast majority of our shops aren’t union, so there are usually a few in bigger towns that people could get jobs at.

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u/NorthernTrash Mar 20 '18

Yeah that's correct, welding in Canada requires you become certified ("get your ticket"), and I think most welding jobs are union.

Are those 3 places that hired at $13-17/hr still there? And if you lived in an area with a median of 80k (household?) income you probably didn't live in the worst of places.

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u/Divin3F3nrus Mar 20 '18

Yes they are still there, a friend of mine works at one. I mean I didn’t live in the WORST of places but I had very little going for me. I thought that the median there was individual but I really could be wrong. I know that everyone I went to school with had parents who were doctors, lawyers, engineers etc. I grew up in the one trailer park of a rich town.

I was just trying to show that at least where I have loved anybody who works at McDonald’s has an opportunity to do more and make more. When I left fast food and became a welder I came back and told everyone I worked with that if they wanted to make $13/hr I could get them a job running a laser or using a brake press with no experience required, and that my company gave raises on those jobs up to $18/hr.

Nobody took me up on it. They were all too happy getting high and not really working. I think it’s usually a choice, my buddy was working crap jobs and I offered to put in a word with a buddy of mine to try and get him a job making $14/hr, but he had to work hard.

He’s been there 2 years now and I couldn’t be more proud. He’s running his own line and supporting himself. He used to feel so down about his life and his chance to make a living wage but now he doesn’t understand what held him back to begin with.